The Effectiveness of Schema-Focused Couples Therapy in Reducing Emotional Deprivation, Mistrust, and Maladaptive Couple Interaction Patterns
Keywords:
Schema-focused couples therapy, emotional deprivation, mistrust, maladaptive interaction patterns, thematic analysis, TehranAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to explore couples’ lived experiences of the perceived effectiveness of schema-focused couples therapy in reducing emotional deprivation, mistrust, and maladaptive couple interaction patterns.Methods and Materials: This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. Participants included 24 individuals, equivalent to 12 married couples, from Tehran, Iran, who were selected through purposive sampling based on experiences of marital conflict, emotional deprivation, relational mistrust, maladaptive interaction patterns, and participation in schema-focused couples therapy. Data were collected through semi-structured individual and couple interviews. Each interview lasted between 45 and 75 minutes. Sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved; initial saturation emerged after the twentieth interview, and four additional interviews were conducted to confirm the stability and richness of the categories. Data were analyzed using NVivo software through familiarization, initial coding, development of subthemes, extraction of main categories, and interpretive review.Findings: The analysis resulted in four main categories: “recognizing emotional deprivation and unmet core needs,” “reducing mistrust through identifying schema-driven cycles,” “interrupting maladaptive couple interaction patterns,” and “reconstructing need-oriented dialogue and emotional responsiveness.” Participants reported that schema-focused couples therapy helped them understand the emotional origins of their own and their partner’s reactions, reduce defensive coping responses such as avoidance, attack, or withdrawal, and replace reciprocal blame with clearer and more vulnerable expression of core emotional needs.Conclusion: The findings suggest that schema-focused couples therapy may help reduce emotional deprivation, mistrust, and maladaptive couple interactions by linking current conflicts to early maladaptive schemas, facilitating corrective emotional experiences, and strengthening the healthy adult mode. Although the qualitative design does not allow causal inference, the results highlight the clinical value of addressing deep cognitive-emotional patterns in couples therapy.
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