The effects of schema therapy-based psychological counseling on the problem behaviors and emotional and psychological well-being of pre-adolescents with divorced parents

This research aimed to examine the effects of Schema Therapy-based individual psychological counseling on the problem behaviors and emotional and psychological well-being of pre-adolescents with divorced parents. It was mixed-method research, including both quantitative and qualitative assessment methods. The quantitative aspect of the research involved an 11-week experimental intervention of Schema Therapy-based individual counseling with 10 pre-adolescents (seven girls, three boys) aged between 12 and 14 years and 4-week individual counseling with their parents. All participation was voluntary. The clients and their parents completed the "Behavioral Assessment Scales for School-Age Children and Adolescents (CBCL /6-18 and YSR/11-18)" before and after the sessions to determine pre-adolescents' problem behaviors. Besides, the "Youth Self-Report for Ages 11-18 (YSR/11-18)" was administered to the clients, and the " Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (CBCL/6-18)" to the parents. The clients' psychological and emotional well-being levels were also measured using the "Stirling Emotional and Psychological Well-Being Scale for Children (SCWBS)." The data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data from the clients and their parents. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The research results showed that the individual psychological counseling sessions based on Schema Therapy affected the general problem behaviors of pre-adolescents with divorced parents. In this sense, internalizing and total problem behaviors changed significantly, while there was no statistically significant change in externalizing problem behaviors. However, Schema Therapy-based psychological counseling increased the emotional and psychological well-being of pre-adolescents. The qualitative findings, including the opinions of the clients and their parents, align with quantitative findings. Additionally, the individual counseling sessions based on Schema Therapy positively affected the clients' emotion regulation skills. Keywords: Schema Therapy, psychological counseling, pre-adolescence, divorce, problem behavior, psychological and emotional well-being.