Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy in reducing romantic breakup distress among adolescent girls with clinical depressive symptoms.

Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control-group design. The target population consisted of female upper secondary school students with clinical depressive symptoms in Tonekabon, Iran, during the 2023–2024 academic year. Using purposive sampling and the Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI-II), 30 students were selected and assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of schema therapy, whereas the control group received no intervention. The Love Trauma Inventory (LTI) was administered to both groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS version 25, with the significance level set at .05.

Results: The findings indicated a statistically significant difference in mean romantic breakup distress scores between the experimental and control groups (p < .05). Schema therapy was associated with a reduction in romantic breakup distress scores among adolescent girls with clinical depressive symptoms in the experimental group.

Conclusion: Schema therapy may be a potentially beneficial intervention for reducing romantic breakup distress among adolescent girls with clinical depressive symptoms.