Cite as (APA style): Arabadzhiev, Z. & Tomcheva, S. (2026). A pilot study on the conceptualization of early maladaptive schemas and their therapy through actual capabilities. The Global Psychotherapist, 6(2), 60-76 http://doi.org/10.52982/lkj314
Abstract: The pilot study presented here is part of an internal project at the Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with ethics committee number 2/06.2025. In this article, we explore the relationship between active early maladaptive schemas (EMS) and the manifestations of actual capabilities, aiming to develop an integrative therapeutic approach. The goal is to examine additional possibilities for their therapeutic modification in structured therapeutic sessions and a time-limited psychotherapeutic process. The following instruments and interventions were used: the Wiesbaden Questionnaire on Positive Psychotherapy (WIPPF 2), a revised version of the Dysfunctional Schemas Questionnaire (YSQ-R 116), and an integrative therapeutic paradigm developed specifically for this project, based on schema therapy and Positive Psychotherapy, in 12 consecutive sessions. Fifteen individuals participated in the pilot study: 5 healthy controls and 10 patients with panic disorder. In this exploratory pilot sample, symptomatic improvement following pharmacotherapy was not accompanied by substantial changes in early maladaptive schemas or actual capabilities. In contrast, the subsequent integrative psychotherapeutic intervention was associated with preliminary evidence of changes in the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and actual capabilities. Given the small sample size and the non-randomized design, these findings should be interpreted with caution and require confirmation in larger, controlled studies.
Keywords: schema therapy, Positive Psychotherapy, integrative approach, actual capabilities