A picture is worth a thousand words. Here's how we model the relationship between schemas, underlying assumptions, automatic thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and external events. (The numbers indicate where psychotherapy intervenes.)

Officially this model is referred to as the cognitive view of psychopathology. In my experience it describes much of human experience, not just the dysfunctional and inappropriate. From the TA perspective, this model illustrates the functioning of the Parent and Child ego states but not the Adult, although the Adult may be contaminated by these. The model also shows where we can intervene to break the closed loop nature of the system, and thereby introduce change.

(1) Catch the automatic thoughts, and dis-empower them.
(2) Discover and modify or erase underlying assumptions.
(3) Discover and modify or erase schemas.
(4) Understand and intercept, then change emotional response and it's effect on behavior
(5) Reduce the "filter" effect of selective recall and the influence of emotional response on it.
(6) Change behavior. Commonly called social control.
(7) Modify the influence of external events and the behavior of others on schemas and underlying assumptions.