Self-Esteem & Self-Worth Therapy for Women

Do you constantly focus on your flaws?

Maybe you’re uncomfortable in social situations. You’re constantly comparing yourself to others, and you feel like you never measure up. These feelings are interfering with your ability to make and maintain relationships.

Perhaps you recall hearing mean comments about yourself from others. These scars feel permanent and deep. You’ve come to believe these negative things about yourself, and it’s uncomfortable accepting positive feedback from others.

It might be difficult for you to enforce boundaries. Because of this, you feel little control over your life and allow others to treat you poorly. You aim to please others even though it’s exhausting.

Maybe you blame yourself for things and feel like you’re not good enough. You find yourself in unhealthy relationships and don’t know how to feel worthy of healthy ones.

You might find it difficult to ask for what you need because you feel undeserving of help. You’re filled with doubt and worry. Making decisions can be paralyzing.

Perhaps there’s a relentless voice in your head that keeps telling you you’re not good enough. You have compassion for others, but you’re harsh with yourself, and it’s exhausting and depressing.

These harsh words are extreme and damaging. It makes sense that you want to feel differently. After all, you are the person you spend the most time with. Thinking and feeling so negatively about yourself, and so often, is frustrating and exhausting.

Hand reaching out towards a mirror

You can learn to love yourself.

Imagine feeling confident and comfortable in your skin. You believe that you are worthy of love and belonging. You no longer compare yourself to others because you love and accept yourself, imperfections and all.

You treat yourself with patience and kindness. The critical voices in your head are quiet and you feel in control of your life.

No matter what you’re going through, you are not alone. Most people develop self-esteem issues in childhood and have lived with low self-esteem for a very long time. You don’t have to continue living like this.

Therapy can help you feel worthy of love and happiness

Self-esteem is our internal assessment of our qualities. When you have low self-esteem, you may underestimate or ignore your positive qualities. You’re critical of yourself and may tell yourself that you’re stupid, ugly, boring, and selfish.

You believe these things so deeply that you question what others see in you.  You probably feel unworthy of praise and find it hard to believe any compliments people give you.  Low self-esteem often comes with shame and self-doubt.

Self-worth is the belief that you are lovable regardless of how you assess your qualities.  When you have self-worth, your assessment of your qualities could be poor, but you still believe that you have innate worth.

Self-worth serves as a necessary foundation when our self-esteem (inevitably) fluctuates. Regardless of how talented, successful, or hardworking you are, you are good enough and worthy of love.

Low self-esteem can manifest in several different ways:

  • Depression and anxiety

  • Lack of joy in life

  • Anger, guilt, sadness

  • Self-doubt

  • A lack of resilience

  • Loneliness

  • Isolation

  • Eating issues

  • Codependency

  • Self-harm

Having a knowledgeable and supportive therapist in your corner can help you develop a healthier and more realistic sense of self. We use evidence-based modalities that allow you to “connect the dots,” gain a deeper understanding of your internal and external experiences, and get to the “root” of your issues so you feel long-term relief.

Thankfully, effective therapy can result in having more self-esteem and self-worth, but it’s a result of addressing experiences that wounded us.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms.

Our brains have a natural way to recover from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication between the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyzes and controls behavior and emotion). While many times traumatic experiences can be managed and resolved spontaneously, they may not be processed without help.

Stress responses are part of our natural fight, flight, or freeze instincts. When distress from a disturbing event remains, the upsetting images, thoughts, and emotions may create an overwhelming feeling of being back in that moment, or of being “frozen in time.”

EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories, and allows normal healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event is resolved.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy recognizes that our mind is naturally multiple, often referred to as the different “parts” of us.  Many of us already use this language in everyday life, for example, “A part of me wants to find a new job because I’m unhappy in my current role, but another part of me is scared to leave and try something new.”

Internal Family Systems teaches us that our parts take on distinct roles to protect us, navigate life, and survive. It might be hard for you to believe right now, but all parts have good intentions.

Throughout our work together, we will hold curiosity about the different parts of you and their roles.  We will help heal by guiding you to access and love your protective and wounded inner parts by changing the dynamics that create discord among parts and the Self.  

As a bonus, you will be more accepting of, and less reactive to, others who used to bother you; you can relate to them with compassion because you’re able to do that with parts of you that resemble them.

Questions or concerns about self-esteem & self-worth therapy?

  • Self-esteem is something that can increase by changing your beliefs, behavior, and how you think about yourself. Most people developed self-esteem issues in childhood and have been living with low self-esteem for a very long time.

    Having a knowledgeable and supportive therapist in your corner can help you develop a healthier and more realistic sense of self. We will help you connect the dots in your life, discover where your low self-esteem came from, and provide tools so you can absolve your negative beliefs and critical self-talk and replace them with self-love and self-compassion.

  • Yes! More often than not, our clients can’t identify the “source” of their struggle…and that’s okay! There are so many factors that can impact low self-esteem.

    You and your therapist will hold curiosity about your struggles and embark on a journey of deep exploration and healing. You’ll discover the root of your low self-esteem and low self-worth and heal whatever experiences made you believe you were unworthy.

  • We understand and appreciate the desire for immediate relief. Although the length of treatment greatly varies, our clients often report feeling an indescribable “aha” moment and experiencing great clarity early on in our work together.

let us help you live the life you deserve!

We’re here to help.

The best way to schedule your complimentary 15-minute phone consultation is to fill out the contact form below. This will allow us to send you a few different available dates so that you can check your schedule and choose a time that’s best for you.

During your consultation, we will get to know more about what you’re looking for and better understand if we can help you. We can also answer any questions you might have or you can visit our FAQ page.  If you and your therapist agree you are a good fit for one another, we will offer to schedule your intake.