[Onward2wards]

I find Schema Theory makes a lot of sense to me. The more I study it, the more it seems to overlap with the concept of self-defeating personality traits, and ultimately, Personality Disorders.

Schema Theory
The 18 Early Schemas Defined
Coping Styles
Common Coping Responses
Schema Modes

I tried to fit one PD into this model - Avoidant Personality Disorder - and came up with this (rough) concept:

Schemas (to any degree individually, bold schemas probably more significant):

3. deprivation (of empathy)
4. defectiveness/shame
5. social alienation
6. incompetency
9. failure to achieve
12. subjugation
15. pessimism

Coping responses:

overcompensation - recognition-seeking (?)
surrender - compliance (strong)
avoidance - social withdrawal, psychological withdrawal (very strong)

The thing I like about Schema Theory is that it provides multiple types of previous stressors, and multiple coping responses, that could fit together in a large number of ways - together they strongly resemble the PDs and subtypes I've read about so far. The really intriguing thing is, it could also "explain" Personality Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PD-NOS), in terms of a mix of schemas and coping mechanisms that overlaps more than one PD without fully meeting DSM diagnostic criteria for any of them.

Has anyone else studied Schema Theory or tried Schema Therapy?

[here today]

I’ve read most of the book and also think it makes a lot of sense. I’ve seen it recommended for personality disorders, but not tried it personally.

The best “explanation” I have found for my (former, hopefully on-its-way-to-being-OK) OCPD, later PDNOS is in Heinz Kohut’s theory of the self. His book Restoration of the Self is good, or a good synopsis, with an expansion of her own, is in three parts starting here:

http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2005/04/narcissism-and-society-part-i.html

With regard specifically to AvPD specifically, it seems closest to what Dr. Sanity describes in Part III as a condition “When the Grandiose Self is repressed”.

That’s not all the “explanation” and schema theory provides a greater elaboration of the types of difficulties people can have, but I wonder if at the core there isn’t some problem with the sense of self in all PD’s. For what it’s worth, the book Disorders of the Self by Marshall Silverstein has some interesting theories along this line, though it’s hard for me to see how we as people WITH PD's could use it.

It would be nice if more psychologists were educated in schema therapy. Sounds viable enough to me -- PDs are generally developed through mixed messages about the self that are a result of poor parenting/environment. So it would make sense that addressing the dialogues themselves would provide great insight. I don't know about "treating" in all of them... Any talk-therapy is dependent on the patient accepting the information that is being uncovered. PDs are especially skilled with denial, in my opinion.

[here today]

In my experience, the denial was unconscious – perhaps it’s always unconscious. A hard shell of defense mechanisms, coping strategies, and the resulting belief system to protect the (in my case) fragmented self.

Schema theory helps explain the defensive system but it seems to me that the most effective, long-lasting therapy comes when a (gifted, well-trained) therapist (who know him/herself well) provides a safe interpersonal environment that allows the client’s self-stuff to come out.

I agree that it would be nice if more psychologists were educated in schema therapy. The more pressing issue, IMHO, is if more generalist psychologists could learn to recognize PD in a client early on and, if not trained to help them, refer them to a specialist.

If the denial is totally unconscious, then the statistics of "remission" for most patients wouldn't be so low. Once someone becomes self-aware there are only so many options... Deny it, enable it, ignore it, change it.

I agree with everything you've said -- but I've just observed quite a bit myself.