This Schema Metaphors resource provides an illustrated series of metaphors to help clients understand what schemas are and how they shape perception.
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.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
Cognitive therapy focuses on three levels of cognition: automatic thoughts, conditional assumptions, and core beliefs. Core beliefs represent the most fundamental level of cognition and are embedded in schemas. Schemas are an important cognitive structure in the cognitive theory of psychopathology. They are believed to contribute to the development, maintenance, and recurrence of psychological disorders (Arntz, 2018; Riso & McBride, 2007).
Metaphors can be a helpful tool for clients to understand complex ideas, including schema-level processes. The Schema Metaphors series is an illustrated collection designed to help individuals understand what schemas are, how they operate, and why they persist.
Schema metaphors help explain what schemas are and how they work.
Characterized by negative core beliefs about self-worth.
Characterized by negative core beliefs related to danger and vulnerability.
Schema-level interventions for personality disorders and chronic interpersonal difficulties.
Use the handout to explain the nature of schemas and how they work.
Discuss how the information applies to the client's difficulties.
Encourage clients to reflect on the implications for addressing their core beliefs.
Core beliefs form the most fundamental level of cognition and are embedded within schemas. Schemas are crucial cognitive structures in the cognitive theory of psychopathology, thought to contribute to the development, maintenance, recurrence, and relapse of psychological disorders (Arntz, 2018; Riso & McBride, 2007). Beck (1967) defines schemas as structures that help in screening, coding, and evaluating the stimuli that affect an individual (p. 283). In this context, core beliefs represent the verbal content of a schema (Beck, 2011; Wills, 2022).
According to the cognitive model, core beliefs influence how individuals select and interpret incoming information, leading to biases in information processing (Riso & McBride, 2007). These beliefs also affect memory recall, as people are more likely to remember experiences that align with their core beliefs (Clark & Beck, 2010). As a result, core beliefs significantly impact how individuals think, feel, and behave, and they are challenging to change because disconfirming information is often distorted, overlooked, or dismissed.
