The effectiveness of imagery work in schema therapy with couples: a clinical experiment comparing the effects of imagery rescripting and cognitive interventions in brief schema couples therapy

Abstract

Schema therapy has shown good effectiveness in individual and group settings. Experiential techniques, in particular, seem to contribute to those effects. In a randomized controlled trial with 12 couples, we compared the effects of couple imagery rescripting exercises and a cognitive intervention based on the schema therapy model in a crossover design. We measured the couples’ sense of closeness, using daily VAS-scales, and on mood (BDI-II). Imagery rescripting showed significantly stronger effects on the felt closeness and mood of both partners than schema model-based cognitive therapy techniques.

Keywords:

• Schema therapy
• couples therapy
• imagery rescripting
• experiential techniques

Acknowledgements

We want to thank the IVAH in Hamburg, Germany, for giving a donation to refund the study therapists, and Marco Drews for collecting and processing the data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Eckhard Roediger (MD) is the past president of the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST) and the training director of the Frankfurt Schema Therapy Institute. He published several books on schema therapy including on couples therapy.

Gerhard Zarbock, a clinical psychologist is head of Training at the IVAH, Institut for Training in CBT, Hamburg, Germany. His main interests are improving teaching, supervision and therapeutic competence in CBT and schema therapy. He recently developed a new didactic device, the competency training spiral (cts), to improve the training process in psychotherapy.

Eva Frank-Noyon is a schema therapy trainer, supervisor and book author working in a private practice with a focus on sexual and relationship problems.

Julia Hinrichs is a schema therapy trainer and supervisor working in private practice.

Arnoud Arntz is a full professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. His research focuses on testing psychological models of personality disorders and PTSD, and developing and testing psychological treatments of these disorders.

Additional information

Funding

The grant provider was not involved in data analysis. However, the director of IVAH is a co-author of this manuscript. The other authors declare that their interpretation of the results was not influenced by the grant provider.