Effectiveness of schema therapy in symptom reduction and adjustment of early maladaptive schemas in patients with type I and II bipolar disorder

Aim and the aim of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of schema therapy in reducing symptoms and adjusting early maladaptive schemas in patients with bipolar disorder. The purpose was to identify patient’s maladaptive schemas and attempt to modify or change them.Methods and Materials: Subjects included 30 patients, 10 men and 20 women that were chosen by convenience sampling from visitors of Nour Medical Center, two mental health clinics in Isfahan and Baran ‘e’ Mehr counselling center in Shahin Shahr. They were diagnosed with bipolar disorder (type I or II) by a psychiatrist using DSM-IV-TR and receiving medical treatment, were randomly put in two groups. Test group received medical treatment with schema therapy and the control group received only medical treatment. Young mania rating scale (YMRS), bipolar depression rating scale (BDRS) and Young schema questionnaire (YSQ3) were used before and after treatment. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance and covariance using SPSS 18.0. Controlling the covariate variable, differences between two groups after the intervention were significant for all three variables of symptoms of mania and depression and early maladaptive schemas (P<0.01). schema therapy as an adjuvant psychological treatment with medication can be effective in reducing symptoms and adjusting the early maladaptive schemas in patients with bipolar disorder, therefore providing regular protocols for schema therapy and adding it to medical treatment is suggested.