Emotional Schemas

Relationship Emotional Schema Scale (RESS)

Emotional Schemas Questionnaire (LESS), 2000 + Scoring Instructions

Emotional Schemas Questionnaire II (LESS II), Revised 2012 + Scoring Instructions

Therapist Schemas Questionnaire

Books

• 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.
• Leahy, R.L. (2018) The Jealousy Cure: Learn to Trust, Overcome Possessiveness, and Save Your Relationship.New Harbinger: Oakland, CA.  
• Leahy, R.L. (2018) Emotional Schema Therapy: Distinctive Features. London: Routledge.
• Leahy, R. L. (2015). Emotional Schema Therapy. Guilford Press: New York.
• 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:

• 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 
• 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. 
• 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

• Emotional Schema Therapy for Bipolar Disorder: Improving Emotional Schemas, Quality of Life, Cognitive Emotion Regulation, and Symptom Management (2023) 
• Dr. Robert Leahy on Beliefs about Emotions in Psychopathology and Psychotherapy 
• 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.
• Leahy, R.L. (2020). Cognitive behavioral therapy for envy. Cognitive Therapy and Research.
• Leahy, R.L. (2020). Living with difficult feelings. New Harbinger.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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
• 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)
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Khaleghi, M., Leahy, R. L., Akbari, E., Mohammadkhani, S., Hasani, J., & Tayyebi, A. (2017). Emotional Schema Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Single-Subject Design. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 10(4), 269-282. 
• 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. 
• 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.
•  Moskovchenko et al. (2016).Psychodiagnostics of emotional schemas: the results of transcultural adaptation and assessment of psychometric properties of Russian Version of LESS II
• May 9, 2016: Dr. Leahy on Emotional Schema Therapy and The Evolution and Future of Cognitive Therapy. Listen to the interview here
• Leahy, R.L. (2016).  Emotional Schema Therapy. In John Livesley, Giancarlo Dimmagio, and John Clarkin (eds.) Integrated Treatment for Personality Disorders. Guilford: New York.

• Leahy, R. L. (2015). Emotional Schema Therapy. Guilford Press: New York. Excerpt:  “The Social Construction of Emotion“
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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. 
• 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.
• Leahy, R. L. (2012). Introduction: Emotional schemas, emotion regulation, and psychopathology.International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 5(4), 359-361.
• Leahy, R. L. (2012). Leahy Emotional Schema Scale II (LESS II). Unpublished manuscript, American Institute for Cognitive Therapy. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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.
• Leahy, R. L., Tirch, D., Napolitano, L. A. (2011). Emotion Regulation in Psychotherapy: A Practitioner’s Guide. Guilford Press: New York.
  • excerpt:  “Why is Emotion Regulation Important?“
• Leahy, R. L. (2011). Emotional Schema Therapy: A Bridge over Troubled Waters. In J. Herbert & E. Forman, Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Leahy, R. L. (2007). Emotional Schemas and Self-Help: Homework Compliance and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 14(3), 297-302.
• Leahy, R. L. (2007). Emotional Schemas and Resistance to Change in Anxiety Disorders. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 14, 36-45.
• 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.
• Leahy, R. L. (2002). A Model of Emotional Schemas. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9, 177-190.

LESS in Different Languages: