Everyone has an opinion about themselves. Sometimes we feel great about who we are, while other times we can feel down or disappointed. Everyone goes through this.
However, some people spend most of their time in the lows, never really being able to connect to positive or accepting feelings about themselves. Ongoing feelings of uselessness, worthlessness, or isolation can be a sign that you may need help with low self-esteem or low self-worth.
Whether you feel that you’ve lost yourself or never really knew yourself, we can help. At Gibson & Associates, we offer therapy for self-esteem in-person at our office in London, ON and virtually across Ontario.
What Is Therapy For Self-Esteem & Self-Worth?
While everyone at some point feels down about themselves, people suffering from low self-esteem/self-worth feel inadequate and worthless in extreme and persistent ways. They may feel shame and guilt for events from their past that they simply cannot overcome. These feelings of shame impact how they see themselves in relationships, work, and social interactions.
For people dealing with self-esteem as their main therapeutic need, there are many types of therapy available so we can work with you to find the best fit. At Gibson & Associates, our therapists draw from many different types of psychotherapy in addition to working through low self-esteem and self-worth, including CBT, EMDR, ACT, DBT, IFS, and more. Visit our team page to learn more about our different approaches.
What Causes Low Self-Esteem Or Confidence?
Low self-esteem can come from a number of different places throughout your life.
Early Development
Many of our foundational beliefs about ourselves are formed in our childhood years. These are moulded by our family, friends, school, social relationships, and other life experiences.
If you:
- grew up in a dysfunctional household,
- suffered from abuse or neglect,
- had controlling, judgemental parents,
- were bullied as a child, or
- simply lacked a loving, nurturing caregiver,
you may have developed feelings of shame, guilt, unworthiness, or of not being important.
How you were raised does not have to impact you for the rest of your life. When you seek support, your counsellor will help you work through these childhood beliefs and build new ones that match your current life, not the challenges that you faced as a child.
Trauma, Stress, or Distressing Life Events
Sometimes, things happen in our lives that are out of our control. When these events happen, we sometimes blame ourselves even though there was nothing that could have been done. This can lead to feelings of guilt and shame that often show up as low self-worth and low self-esteem.
Trauma and stress are not your fault and by working to challenge these beliefs, you can begin to overcome these feelings of guilt and shame that make you question your self-worth. Through therapy, you and your counsellor will work together to identify traumatic events from your past and challenge the beliefs that have been created about yourself.
Signs You May Benefit From Self-Esteem Counselling
We measure our self-esteem by how we value and believe in ourselves. When you feel like you have no value, you may be suffering from low self-esteem or self-worth. While every person’s self-esteem fluctuates with the normal ups and downs of life, people with healthy self-esteem can rebound from low times and don’t believe that negative events are their fault. They generally think positive thoughts about themselves, their life, and their future.
However, people with low self-esteem think poorly of themselves almost all the time. They may believe that all negative events are their fault and that they are the problem. They don’t feel better during the “ups” of life but think pessimistic thoughts about how it will all go wrong soon or that they will mess things up.
Some common symptoms of people suffering from low self-esteem are:
- Feeling that you or your life is worthless or meaningless
- Believing that you are inferior to others or that everyone is better than you
- Feeling that you are unlovable, disliked, or unwanted
- Needing the approval of others
- Irrational feelings of shame and guilt
- Feeling critical of yourself, that you are never good enough
- Indecision and self-doubt on what to do
- Scared to make mistakes or believing that what you’re doing is wrong
- Feeling uncomfortable with compliments from others
If these symptoms resonate with you, contact us about how we can support you in feeling good about yourself. We have both online and in-person counselling for self-esteem available and will work with you to find the best course of treatment.
In Person Vs. Online Self-Esteem Therapy
If in-person therapy isn’t convenient for you, we at Gibson and Associates are happy to offer virtual therapy throughout Ontario as well as in-person sessions in our office in London.
Online therapy is convenient, confidential, and effective and our online counselling sessions are compliant with Ontario’s Privacy Health Information Protect Act (PHIPA) and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
You deserve to feel better about yourself. At Gibson and Associates, we want to help you be your best self through whatever type of therapy is the best fit for you.
Get Started With Self-Esteem & Confidence Counselling Now
If you’re feeling like you’re not worthy of support or care, call us today to change that narrative. Everybody deserves to live their best life, and we can help you get there.
Contact us today to get started with in-person or online self-esteem support.
