Low self-esteem can have an impact on a person in many areas on a psychological level, which is why it is essential to work on it.
There are different ways to address this problem in the psychologist’s office. In this article we are going to review some of the most common proposals to try to improve a person’s level of self-esteem in psychotherapy and thereby achieve a higher level of well-being in all facets of your life.
What is psychological therapy to overcome self-esteem problems?
In order to know what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems, we must first take an approach to the concept of self-esteem itself. This is a complex element to define. An approximation could be the totality of thoughts, emotions and evaluations that a person makes about themselves.
In this self-assessment, all spheres of the person themselves are taken into account, both the way of being and the physical shape, abilities, etc. Definitely, Self-esteem would represent an individual’s desire to feel appreciated by others and by himself. This is a transcendental need in people, so much so that even in Maslow’s pyramid it appears at the fourth level, only below self-realization.
If we want to know what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems, we need to delve a little deeper into this phenomenon. Another author who highlights the importance of self-esteem is the humanistic psychologist, Carl Rogers. For Rogers, the fact that many people do not give themselves the value they deserve is the beginning of many psychological alterations.
Given this statement, the school of humanistic psychology itself proposes a maxim to follow at all times, and that is that any individual, solely for the reason of being a human being, is deserving of maximum respect, not only from other people. , but also from himself, or what is the same, he deserves to have the esteem of others and his own self-esteem.
We get an idea of ​​the immense importance of self-esteem, and hence the interest aroused by the question of what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems, since this can be the way to alleviate and even prevent various psychopathologies that They can affect people with a low level of self-esteem.
Psychological intervention strategies to learn to love yourself
After verifying the level of relevance that self-esteem can have in people’s lives, it is now time to study ways to repair or enhance it. Therefore, let’s now delve into the different answers to what psychotherapy for self-esteem problems is like.
To do this, we will explore some of the ways to address this situation from a psychology consultation, although it is necessary to remember that these are not the only ways to do so, as there are many more.
1. Explore the origin
When we ask ourselves what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems, one of the first answers that arise is to look for the reason for these problems, or in other words, explore the origin. Generally, low self-esteem does not come from a single event, but from a set of experiences and characteristics of the person themselves. that have progressively been favoring this situation.
The fact of being able to explore and find traumatic experiences that have helped make the person’s self-esteem increasingly lower can allow the therapist to work on these events through repair therapies, such as EMDR, through of bilateral stimulation, so that the patient can reprocess these traumatic situations with resources that they did not have at the time.
2. Work on limiting beliefs
In addition to acting on past events, another strategy that is appropriate to the question of what psychotherapy for self-esteem problems is like is the one that has to do with working on the person’s limiting beliefs. A limiting belief is any thought that may make it difficult for an individual to develop or achieve certain goals.
Therefore, this issue is directly related to self-esteem. The reasoning is as follows. If the person suffers from low self-love, it is precisely because he believes that he is not valid, that he does not have notable abilities in anything, that he does not deserve the respect or appreciation of others. Therefore, he will hardly be able to get out of that loop if these beliefs are not addressed.
To carry out this work, cognitive restructuring can be used. The final goal will be manage to replace these limiting beliefs or cognitive distortions with other beliefs that are positive about oneself and therefore represent a boost towards high self-esteem, which in the long run will have an impact on the individual’s own well-being.
For this reason, when thinking about what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems, working on one’s own negative thoughts is key if we want to achieve a significant and sustained change over time in the patient’s perception of themselves.
3. Improve social skills
On many occasions, self-esteem problems can be reinforced by a deficit in the area of ​​social skills. By not having the appropriate tools, a person may have problems interacting normally with other individuals, which will generate anxiety and increase those negative beliefs we were talking about.
Not only that, but it can be created a vicious circle in which they do not want to interact with others and therefore never have the opportunity to have that appreciation from others that will improve your self-esteem. For this reason, another answer to what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems is neither more nor less than training in social skills.
The fact of Learning to relate to other people in an appropriate way can give the patient the confidence they need to fight against that negative perception of themselves. and therefore it will be a useful way of working to ensure that your self-esteem is increasingly higher.
We are verifying that, although we are proposing different ways of facing the question of what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems, in reality in many cases extensive work is required to resolve the different points that we are listing, since in this way It ensures that the effect is amplified and the therapist is more efficient in his or her task.
4. Behavioral stimulation
It is not only about working on beliefs, it is also necessary to do the same on behaviors. That is why another alternative to what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems is behavioral stimulation. What does it consist of? In proposing to the patient a series of activities that are pleasant and with which he gets involved.
The objective of this task is to give you the opportunity to get to know yourself better, discovering skills you thought you didn’t have and even seeing how these are enhanced and he manages to acquire reasonably good skills in a hobby that is of interest to him.
This technique has a direct impact on self-esteem, since it is more likely that the person will have a more favorable image of themselves when they are aware of their abilities and progress, which will have repercussions, as we have already seen, in other different areas and, Together with the rest of the techniques used, it will help the person improve their mood.
5. Enhance strengths
We have already seen previously that it is important to know negative beliefs in order to work on them. But it will be equally important know the most positive points of self-concept, precisely to be able to reinforce them and use them as a means to achieve an improvement in self-esteem.
If the person does not have a good image of themselves in general terms, but there are certain specific points, be it some special ability or traits that seem notable and positive, it will be essential for the therapist to take them into account to rely on them, to try to replicate that positive perception in other areas.
This, therefore, will be another of the strategies that we can use when we face the task of what psychotherapy is like for self-esteem problems. As we said previously, these are just some of the possibilities, and different ones can be used when the psychology professional deems it appropriate.
