The Dependence / Incompetence handout is designed to help therapists and clients better understand this early maladaptive schema as part of the Psychology Tools Schema series.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Schema therapy posits that psychological difficulties stem from early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and clients’ characteristic responses to them, referred to as ‘coping styles’. People with a dependence / incompetence schema experience a pervasive sense of helplessness, ineptitude, and inadequacy (Young et al., 2003). They feel incapable of managing their lives independently and heavily rely on others for care and guidance. As a result, they often struggle with low self-esteem, self-criticism, and sense of inferiority.
This schema resource is designed to help clients and therapists to work more effectively with common early maladaptive schemas (EMS).
Characterized by an excessive need to be taken care of.
Low mood related to an excessive reliance on others for support.
Stemming from an excessive dependence on others for guidance and care.
Provide psychoeducation about schemas and their origins.
Identify signs of the dependence / incompetence schema in the client's life.
Help clients recognize when this schema is activated.
Address the schema using cognitive, experiential, behavioral, and interpersonal interventions.
Schema therapy posits that early maladaptive schemas (EMS), such as dependence / incompetence, stem from unmet emotional needs in childhood. It combines cognitive behavioral, attachment, gestalt, object relationships, constructivist, psychoanalytic, and neurobiological approaches within a unifying conceptual model to address complex and longstanding psychological difficulties (Young, 1990, 1999; Young et al., 2003).
People with dependence / incompetence schemas find it diffcult to take care of themselves, manage everyday tasks, or make decisions. Because they don’t trust their own judgements, they feel they must rely on others to function or survive.
In light of the unmet needs associated with dependence / incompetence, individuals with this EMS also require a specific ‘need-meeting’ style of interaction from the outset of therapy (Cutland Green & Balfour, 2020). This includes encouragement, compassion, and empowerment: therapists will need to recognize and celebrate the client’s capabilities, while simultaneously guiding, promoting, and respecting their autonomy (Lockwood & Perris, 2012; Lockwood & Samson, 2020).
Therapists benefit from a comprehensive resource that helps with identifying, understanding, and addressing maladaptive schemas.
