David Bernstein 

Honorary Life Membership Nominee - ISST General Membership Assembly September 2022

Prof. David Bernstein of Maastricht University in the Netherlands is one of the leading innovators, teachers, and trainers in Schema Therapy.  He has contributed enormously to the growth of Schema Therapy and to the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST). 

He learned Schema Therapy from Jeffrey Young and Wendy Behary, in the days before there were formal Schema Therapy training programs.  He worked at Jeff’s Cognitive Therapy Center of New York from 1998 to 2001.  He took the audacious step to move his young family from New York to the Netherlands in 2004, recruited by Arnoud Arntz to take a position at Maastricht University.  Shortly after his arrival, he began his research with Dutch forensic hospitals.  Eventually, he was appointed ‘Professor of Forensic Psychotherapy,’ an endowed chair sponsored by Forensic Psychiatric Center ‘De Rooyse Wissel,’ and led the Forensic Psychology section at Maastricht University.  He was one of the founders of the ISST.  He served on the ISST board from 2006 to 2012, and while Vice-President of the ISST, organized the ISST conference in New York City in 2012. 

David is known for his creativity and originality as a clinician and researcher, enthusiasm and supportiveness as a colleague and mentor, and his work with some of the most challenging patient populations.  He has taken Schema Therapy in new and exciting directions, for example, developing new adaptations of Schema Therapy for forensic patients (“Forensic Schema Therapy”) and for teams working in complex institutional environments (“SafePath”).  His multicenter randomized clinical trial in the Netherlands showed that even the most challenging violent offenders could be helped by Schema Therapy, reducing their risks and facilitating their return to the community.  These findings are a major breakthrough in the field, giving hope that even the most difficult patients can be treated.  His SafePath program has also demonstrated effectiveness in clinical trials, helping teams, such as those in psychiatric, forensic, and addiction settings, to function more effectively.  His numerous publications with coauthors such as Arnoud Arntz, Eshkol Rafaeli, and former PhD students Marije Keulen-de Vos, Marjolein van-Wijk Herbrink, and Farid Chakhssi, have helped put Schema Therapy on a solid empirical foundation.  In these and many other endeavors, he has shown a commitment to creating evidence-based treatments for often underserved and marginalized populations.

In all of his work, he has shown a commitment to spreading knowledge about best practices in Schema Therapy and developing new tools and materials to help Schema Therapists.  For example, he has trained hundreds of therapists in the Netherlands, through the Forensic Schema Therapy training program he founded, now led by Truus Kersten.  He has helped spread Schema Therapy to many different countries by sharing his expertise in workshops.  His SafePath Institute, co-led by Limor Navot, has spread Schema Therapy practices to dozens of teams and institutions worldwide.  He has created video materials for therapists, written books on Schema Therapy, and his image-based therapy tools, the Bernstein iModes, have facilitated the work of countless Schema Therapists.

David received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from New York University in 1990.  Before moving to the Netherlands, he served on the faculties of Mount Sinai Medical Center and Fordham University and was Director of Substance Abuse Services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Bronx, New York.  His PhD thesis was the first longitudinal study of the development of personality disorders in childhood and adolescence. It led to two articles that he published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.  His interest in personality disorders has spanned his entire career.  His publications have influenced the diagnostic classification of personality disorders in the DSM-IV and the DSM-5 and contributed to our understanding of the interplay between personality disorders, childhood trauma, and aggression.  He has made antisocial personality disorder a particular focus.  This has included developing new treatment methods for antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy, and studies with former PhD student, Lieke Nentjes, on emotional processing in psychopathic offenders.  In recognition of his achievements in the area of personality disorders, he was elected President of the Association for Research on Personality Disorders (2001-2005) and Vice-President of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders (2003-2007).

In the early 1990’s, when child abuse and neglect were emerging as societal concerns, he developed two reliable and valid assessment tools, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Childhood Trauma Interview (CTI).  The CTQ has become the standard maltreatment questionnaire in the field.  It has been translated into many languages and used in thousands of studies, as well as in clinical practice.

David is very grateful to have the ISST as his professional ‘family.’  He values the connections he has formed with many members of our community, including older and newer friends and colleagues.  He is very appreciative of being nominated to the honor of a lifetime membership from the ISST.

Selected publications (out of 136):

Deller-Wessels, L., Bernstein, D. P., & Lorei, C. (2022). Emotional states encountered by law enforcement officers: An initial test of the schema mode concept in police actions. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09541-7

Bernstein, D. P., Keulen-de Vos, M., Clercx, M., de Vogel, V., Kersten, G. C. M., Lancel, M., Jonkers, P. P., Bogaerts, S., Slaats, M., Broers, N. J., Deenen, T. A. M., & Arntz, A. (2021). Schema therapy for violent pd offenders: A randomized clinical trial. Psychological Medicine. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.1017/S0033291721001161

van Wijk-Herbrink, M. F., Arntz, A., Broers, N. J., Roelofs, J., & Bernstein, D. P. (2021). A schema therapy based milieu in secure residential youth care: Effects on aggression, group climate, repressive staff interventions, and team functioning. Residential Treatment for Children & Youth, 38(3), 289–306. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/0886571X.2019.1692758

Bernstein, D. (2021).  Building strengths in therapy: The comprehensive guide to the Complete iModes system.  Maastricht, The Netherlands: The SafePath Institute.

Bernstein, D., & Navot, L. (2020). Bridging the gap between forensic and general clinical practice: Working in the ‘here and now’ with difficult schema modes. In G. Heath & H. Startup (Eds.), Creative methods in schema therapy: Advances and innovation in clinical practice. (pp. 195–209). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.4324/9781351171847-12

Van Wijk-Herbrink, M. F., Lobbestael, J., Bernstein, D. P., Broers, N. J., Roelofs, J., & Arntz, A. (2020). The influence of early maladaptive schemas on the causal links between perceived injustice, negative affect, and aggression. The International Journal of Forensic Mental Health. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/14999013.2020.1842562

Bernstein, D. P., Clercx, M., & Keulen-De Vos, M. (2019). Schema therapy in forensic settings. In D. L. L. Polaschek, A. Day, & C. R. Hollin (Eds.), The Wiley international handbook of correctional psychology. (pp. 654–668). Wiley Blackwell. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/9781119139980.ch41

Bach, B., & Bernstein, D. P. (2019). Schema therapy conceptualization of personality functioning and traits in ICD-11 and DSM-5. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 32(1), 38–49. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000464

Van Wijk-Herbrink, M. F., Bernstein, D. P., Broers, N. J., Roelofs, J., Rijkeboer, M. M., & Arntz, A. (2018). Internalizing and externalizing behaviors share a common predictor: The effects of early maladaptive schemas are mediated by coping responses and schema modes. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46(5), 907–920. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10802-017-0386-2

Bernstein, D. (2018). 25 ways to make therapy more effective:  Using the iModes in Schema Therapy and Beyond.  Maastricht, The Netherlands: The SafePath Institute.

Van Wijk-Herbrink, M. F., Broers, N. J., Roelofs, J., & Bernstein, D. P. (2017). Schema therapy in adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders. The International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 16(3), 261–279. https://doi-org.mu.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/14999013.2017.1352053

Keulen-de Vos, M., van den Broek, E., Bernstein, D.P., Vallentin, R., & Arntz, A. (2017). Evoking emotional states in personality disordered offenders: An experimental study of experiential drama therapy techniques. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 53, 80-88.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.01.003

Keulen-de Vos, M., Bernstein, D.P., Clark, L.A., de Vogel, V., Bogaerts, S., Slaats, M., & Arntz, A. (2017).  Validation of the schema mode concept in personality disordered offenders.  Legal and Criminological Psychology, 22, 420-441. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12109 

Nentjes, L., Bernstein, D.P., Meijer, E., Arntz, A., & Wiers, R. (2016). The mask of sanity: facial expressive, self-reported, and physiological consequences of emotion regulation in psychopathic offenders.  Journal of Personality Disorders, 30, 828-847. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi_2016_30_235

Keulen-de Vos, M., Bernstein, D.P., Vanstipelen, S., de Vogel, V., Lucker, T., Slaats, M., Hartkoorn, M., & Arntz, A. (2016).  Schema modes in the criminal and violent behavior of forensic Cluster B PD patients: A retrospective and prospective study. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 21, 56-76, DOI: 10.1111/lcrp.12047

Nentjes, L., Bernstein, D.P., Arntz, A., van Breukelen, G., & Slaats, M.E. (2015).  Examining the influence of psychopathy, hostility biases, and automatic processing on criminal offenders’ theory of mind.  International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 38, 92-99.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2015.01.012

Chakhssi, F., Bernstein, D. P., & de Ruiter, C. (2014). Early maladaptive schemas in relation to facets of psychopathy and institutional violence in offenders with personality disorders. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 19, 356-372

Chakhssi, F., Kersten, G., de Ruiter, C., & Bernstein, D.P. (2014).  Treating the untreatable: A single case study of a psychopathic patient treated with Schema Therapy.  Psychotherapy, 51, 447-461. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0035773

Chakhssi, F., de Ruiter, C., & Bernstein, D. P. (2013). Early maladaptive cognitive schemas in child sexual offenders compared with sexual offenders against adults and nonsexual violent offenders: An exploratory study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10, 2201-2210. doi: 10.1111/jsm.12171

Rafaeli, E., Bernstein, D.P., & Young, J. (2011). Schema Therapy: Distinctive Features. London & New York: Routledge. 

Arntz, A., Bernstein, D., Gielen, D., van Nieuwenhuijzen, M., Penders, K., Haslam, N., & Ruscio, J. (2009). Cluster-C, Paranoid, and Borderline Personality Disorders are dimensional: Evidence from taxometric tests. Journal of Personality Disorders, 23, 606-628.

Bernstein, D., Arntz, A., & de Vos, M. (2007). Schema Focused Therapy in forensic settings: theoretical model and recommendations for best clinical practice.  International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 6, 169-183.

Bernstein, D.P., Stein, J.A., Newcomb, M.D., Walker, E., Pogge, D., Ahluvalia, T., Stokes, J., Handelsman, L., Medrano, M., Desmond, D., Zule, W. (2003). Development and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.  Child Abuse and Neglect, 27, 169-190. 

Bernstein, D.P., Cohen, P., Skodol, A., Bezirganian, S., & Brook, J. (1996).  Childhood antecedents of adolescent personality disorders.  American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 907-913.

Bernstein, D.P., Cohen, P., Velez, CN., Schwab-Stone, M., Siever, L., & Shinsato, L. (1993). The prevalence and stability of the DSM-III-R personality disorders in a community-based survey of adolescents.  American Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 1237-12