Affective scripts: a systematic case study of change in psychotherapy.

This article presents a systematic case study of maladaptive interpersonal schemas. These schemas are conceived of as affective scripts, or sequences of behaviors that regulate emotion in interpersonal relationships. Part I presents a test of the method for identifying affective scripts. Independent raters applied FRAMES (Fundamental Repetitive and Maladaptive Emotion Structures; Hoelzer & Dahl, 1996) to a representative sample of transcripts of a long-term psychotherapy. Empirical checks of each assessment procedure verified the identification of five maladaptive scripts in hundreds of narratives and enactments with the therapist. In Part II, these scripts were tracked across treatment to identify adaptive changes. Statistical analyses indicated a reduction in maladaptive scripts and an increase in adaptive changes. The evolution of the most pervasive script is described in detail. Strengths and weaknesses of the method are discussed.