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Emotional Schemas

Measures

English versions

  1. Relationship Emotional Schema Scale (RESS)
  2. Emotional Schemas Questionnaire (LESS), 2000 + Scoring Instructions
  3. Emotional Schemas Questionnaire II (LESS II), Revised 2012 + Scoring Instructions
  4. Therapist Schemas Questionnaire

Translations

  1. LESS in Hungarian
  2. LESS in Chinese
  3. LESS in Arabic (Translated by Osama Aljama)
  4. LESS in Russian
  5. LESS in Espanol
  6. LESS in Urdu
  7. LESS in Turkish
  8. LESS in Romanian
  9. LESS in Macedonian
  10. LESS in Persian
  11. LESS II in Portugese
  12. LESS II in French
  13. Emotional Muster – German
  14. Dimensionen und Items des Emotionale Muster Fragebogen – German
  15. RESS in Persian

Books

Emotion Regulation in Psychotherapy Emotional Scheme Therapy 

  1. Leahy, R.L. (2020) Don’t Believe Everything You Feel: A CBT Workbook to Identify Your Emotional Schemas and Freedom From Anxiety and Depression. New Harbinger: Oakland,CA.
  2. Leahy, R.L. (2018) The Jealousy Cure: Learn to Trust, Overcome Possessiveness, and Save Your Relationship.New Harbinger: Oakland, CA.  
  3. Leahy, R.L. (2018) Emotional Schema Therapy: Distinctive Features. London: Routledge.
  4. Leahy, R. L. (2015). Emotional Schema Therapy. Guilford Press: New York.
  5. Leahy, R. L., Tirch, D., Napolitano, L. A. (2011). Emotion Regulation in Psychotherapy: A Practitioner’s Guide. Guilford Press: New York.

Books, Articles, Chapters, Presentations on Emotional Schemas

  1. Makas, S., & Koç, M. (2025). The mediating effect of emotional schemas in the relationship between online gaming addiction and life satisfaction. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 430.
  2. Razzaghi, M., Zemestani, M., & Mashhadi, A. (2025). Effectiveness of Emotional Schema Therapy on Anxiety Symptoms, Emotion Regulation, and Marital Satisfaction in Women with Anxiety Disorders: A Preliminary Study. International Journal of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-025-00238-3
  3. Morvaridi, M., Roshan Chesli, R., Farahani, H., & Mashhadi, A. (2024). Effective Common Emotional Schemas in Iranian Adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Qualitative Study. Clinical Psychology Studies, 15(54), 21–32.
  4. Rezaei, M., Samadieh, H., Bagheri, M. M. S., & Ghadamour, E. (2025). The role of meta-cognitive and emotional beliefs, and negative repetitive thinking in the relationship between emotional abuse and psychological distress in psychiatric outpatients: A serial multiple mediation model. Personalized Medicine in Psychiatry, 49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmip.2024.100146
  5. Sebastião, R., & Neto, D. D. (2024). Longitudinal association of stress with mental health in the context of COVID-19: The mediating role of psychological flexibility and emotional schemas. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being.
  6. Fathy, M. G., & Mandoob, K. J. (2024). Arabic Version of the Leahy Emotional Schemas Scale-II. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry, 1–16.
  7. Prasko, J., Diveky, T., Kamaradova, D., Sandoval, A., Jelenova, D., Vrbova, K., Sigmundova, Z., & Vyskocilova, J. (2012). P-1165—Therapeutic letters—Changing the emotional schemas using writing letters to significant caregivers. European Psychiatry.
  8. Sebastião, R., Neto, D. D., & da Silva, A. N. (2023). Recalled Parental Emotion Socialisation and Psychological Distress: The Role of Emotional Schemas. Psychological Reports, 00332941231204304. 
  9. Sebastião, R., & Neto, D. D. (2024). Stress and mental health: The role of emotional schemas and psychological flexibility in the context of COVID-19. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 32, 100736. 
  10. Emotional Schema Therapy for Bipolar Disorder: Improving Emotional Schemas, Quality of Life, Cognitive Emotion Regulation, and Symptom Management (2023) 
  11. Dr. Robert Leahy on Beliefs about Emotions in Psychopathology and Psychotherapy 
  12. Kalantarian, Elham & Homaei, Rezvan & Dasht Bozorgi, Zahra. (2023). Effects of Emotional Schema Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Cognitive Emotion Regulation in Patients with Bipolar II Disorder. Modern Care Journal. 21. 10.5812/mcj-138135.
  13. Leahy, R.L. (2020). Cognitive behavioral therapy for envy. Cognitive Therapy and Research.
  14. Leahy, R.L. (2020). Living with difficult feelings. New Harbinger.
  15. Khosravani, V., Ardestani, S. M. S., Mohammadzadeh, A., Bastan, F. S., & Amirinezhad, A. (2020). The Emotional Schemas and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Dimensions in People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy.
  16. Shahsavani, S., Mashhadi, A., & Bigdeli, I. (2020). The Effect of Group Emotional Schema Therapy on Cognitive Emotion Strategies in Women with Migraine Headaches: a Pilot Study. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 1-13.
  17. Edwards, E.R. and Wupperman, P. (2019), Research on emotional schemas: A review of findings and challenges. Clin Psychol, 23: 3-14. doi:10.1111/cp.12171
  18. Oguz, G., Celikbas, Z., Batmaz, S., Cagli, S., & Sungur, M. Z. (2019). Comparison Between Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Panic Disorder on Metacognitive Beliefs, Emotional Schemas, and Cognitive Flexibility. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 12(3), 157-178. doi:10.1007/s41811-019-00047-5
  19. Leahy, R.L., Wupperman, P., Edwards, E., Shivaji, S., & Molina, N. (2019). Metacognition and Emotional Schemas: Effects on Depression and Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (DOI: 10.1007/s41811-018-0035-8)
  20. Morvaridi, M., Mashhadi, A., Shamloo, Z. & Leahy, R.L. (2019). The Effectiveness of Group Emotional Schema Therapy on Emotional Regulation and Social Anxiety Symptoms. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy.
  21. Daneshmandri, S., Izadikhah, Z., Wilson, L., & Forooshani, S., (2019). Emotional Schema Therapy Improves Emotion Regulation in Individuals with a history of Child Abuse and Neglect. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy.
  22. Suh, J. Lee, H., Nahyun, Y., Min, H., Seo, D., & Choi, K., (2019). A Brief Version of the Leahy Emotional Schema Scale: A Validation Study. International Journal for Cognitive Therapy.
  23. Dr. Leahy’s workshop on emotional schema therapy at the 2017 European Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia can be viewed here and here.
  24. Edwards, E. R., Micek, A., Mottarella, K., & Wupperman, P. (2017). Emotion ideology mediates effects of risk factors on alexithymia development.Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (35)3, 1-24.
  25. Westphal, M., Leahy R.L, Pala, A. N., & Wupperman, P. (2016). Self-compassion and emotional invalidation mediate the effects of parental indifference on psychopathology. Psychiatry Research, 242, 186-191. 
  26. Rezaee, M., Ghazanfari, F., & Reazee, F. (2016). Effectiveness of emotional schema therapy on severity of depression and rumination in people with major depressive disorder. Journal of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, 24(1), 41-54.
  27. Moskovchenko et al. (2016).Psychodiagnostics of emotional schemas: the results of transcultural adaptation and assessment of psychometric properties of Russian Version of LESS II
  28. Leahy, R. L., Tirch, D., Napolitano, L. A. (2011). Emotion Regulation in Psychotherapy: A Practitioner’s Guide. Guilford Press: New York.
  29. “Why is Emotion Regulation Important?“
  30. Leahy, R. L. (2011). Emotional Schema Therapy: A Bridge over Troubled Waters. In J. Herbert & E. Forman, Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
  31. Leahy, R. L. (2010). Personal Schemas in the Negotiation Process: A Cognitive Therapy Approach. In M. Galluccio & F. Aquilar (Eds.), Psychological and political strategies for peace negotiation: A cognitive approach. London: Springer.
  32. Leahy, R. L. (2010). Emotional Schemas in Treatment Resistant Anxiety. In D. Sookman & R. L. Leahy, Treatment Resistant Anxiety Disorders: Resolving Impasses to Symptom Remission (pp. 135-160). New York: Routledge.
  33. Clark, D. A., Hollifield, M., Leahy, R. L., & Beck, J. S. (2009). Theory of cognitive therapy. In G. O. Gabbard (Ed.), Textbook of psychotherapeutic treatments (pp. 165-200). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
  34. Leahy, R. L. (2009). Resistance: An Emotional Schema Therapy (EST) Approach. In G. Simos, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: A Guide for the Practising Clinician (Vol. 2, pp. 187-204). New York: Routledge.
  35. Leahy, R. L. (2007). Emotional Schemas and Self-Help: Homework Compliance and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 14(3), 297-302.
  36. Leahy, R. L. (2007). Emotional Schemas and Resistance to Change in Anxiety Disorders. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 14, 36-45.
  37. Leahy, R. L. (2007). Schematic Mismatch in the Therapeutic Relationship: A Social-Cognitive Model. In P. Gilbert & R. L. Leahy, The Therapeutic Relationship in the Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapies (pp. 229-254). New York: Routledge.
  38. Leahy, R. L. (2002). A Model of Emotional Schemas. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9, 177-190.
  39. May 9, 2016: Dr. Leahy on Emotional Schema Therapy and The Evolution and Future of Cognitive Therapy. Listen to the interview here
  40. Leahy, R.L. (2016).  Emotional Schema Therapy. In John Livesley, Giancarlo Dimmagio, and John Clarkin (eds.) Integrated Treatment for Personality Disorders. Guilford: New York.
  41. Leahy, R. L. (2012). Leahy Emotional Schema Scale II (LESS II). Unpublished manuscript, American Institute for Cognitive Therapy. 
  42. Leahy, R. L. (2015). Emotional Schema Therapy. Guilford Press: New York. Excerpt:  “The Social Construction of Emotion“
  43. Naderi, Y., Moradi, A., Hasani, J., & Noohi, S. (2015). Effectiveness of emotional schema therapy on cognitive emotion regulation strategies of combat-related post traumatic stress disorder veterans. Iranian Journal of War and Public Health, 7(3), 147-155.
  44. Batmaz, S., & Özdel, K. (2015). Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Leahy Emotional Schema Scale-II. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry/Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 16(1), 23-30.
  45. Batmaz, S., Kaymak, S. U., Kocbiyik, S., & Turkcapar, M. H. (2014). Metacognitions and emotional schemas: a new cognitive perspective for the distinction between unipolar and bipolar depression.Comprehensive psychiatry, 55(7), 1546-1555.
  46. Daneshmandi, S., Izadikhah, Z., Kazemi, H., & Mehrabi, H. (2014). The effectiveness of emotional schema therapy on emotional schemas of female victims of child abuse and neglect. Journal of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, 22(5), 1481-1494. 
  47. Sirota, N., Moskovchenko, D., Yaltonsky, V., Kochetkov, Y., Yaltonskaya, A. (2013). Psychodiagnostics of emotional schemas: the results of transcultural adaptation and assessment of psychometric properties of Russian Version of Leahy Emotional Schema Scale II (LESS II_RUS). VM Bekhterev Review of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, 77 (1), 66-71.
  48. Leahy, R. L. (2012). Introduction: Emotional schemas, emotion regulation, and psychopathology.International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 5(4), 359-361.
  49. Leahy, R. L., Tirch, D. D., & Melwani, P. S. (2012). Processes underlying depression: Risk aversion, emotional schemas, and psychological flexibility. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 5(4), 362-379.
  50. Silberstein, L. R., Tirch, D. D., Leahy, R. L., & McGinn, L. (2012). Mindfulness, psychological flexibility and emotional schemas.International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 5(4), 406-419. 
  51. Silberstein, L. R., Tirch, D. D., Leahy, R. L., & McGinn, L. (2012). Emotional schemas, psychological flexibility, and anxiety: The role of flexible response patterns to anxious arousal. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 5(4), 380-391.
  52. Predatu, R., Leahy, R. L., Mornea, R., Fodor, A. (2026) Emotional schemas and metacognitive beliefs in anxiety and depression: A network approach. Journal of Affective Disorders 409 121383