The author proposes the concept of relational schemas as a metatheoretical construct that can serve as a common principle for describing change in various schools of psychotherapy. Relational schemas encompass subjective experiences and behavior of self-in-relationship and can be thought of as blueprints for experiencing the self and relating to others. Schemas originate in early childhood but are revised and shaped anew throughout life. They can be nonverbal or verbal, implicit or explicit. They affect the way we establish interpersonal relationships and our relationship with ourselves. Activation of relational schemas can result in a display of various ego states, and such schemas can be adaptive or defensive. For deep personality change, it is important that change take place at the level of schemas. Psychotherapy promotes change and reconstruction of old defensive schemas and, at the same time, the development of new relational schemas through the relationship with a therapist. Relational schemas theory can serve as a framework for integrating different psychotherapy schools.

The aim of the research was the development of a new scale for measuring the satisfaction of relational needs. In the first study, we developed 269 items based on Erskine's description of eight relational needs. Five experts evaluated the items, and then they were pilot-tested on a sample of 221 participants. Using principal component analysis, we found five components related to five relational needs: authenticity, support and protection, having an impact, shared experience, and initiative from the other. In the second study, the Relational Needs Satisfaction Scale was tested on a sample of 255 participants and further refined with the help of factor analysis. The final version of the scale consists of 20 items and measures overall relational needs satisfaction and the five dimensions of relational needs. The reliability of the overall score was excellent, while subscales had acceptable to good reliability. The relational needs satisfaction positively and significantly correlates with the secure attachment style, self-compassion, higher satisfaction with life, and better well-being. In the third study, we confirmed both the five-factor model and the hierarchical model on the sample of 354 participants. We proposed that the hierarchical model is more congruent with the theoretical model, as all five dimensions of relational needs are aspects of one general dimension of relational needs satisfaction. The scale can be used in both psychotherapy and counseling and research related to different fields of psychology.

Working with suicidal clients is frequently referred to as one of the most demanding and anxiety-provoking aspects of therapeutic work. The aim of this study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of therapists' experience in treating suicidal individuals and to develop a theoretical model of it. Eleven psychotherapists (four men and