Enhancing Self-Esteem

Self-esteem, or how we evaluate our personal worth, relates to how we view and think about ourselves. Often, we set unrealistic standards and expectations for ourselves based on other people, society, and media.

This program provides the tools to understand, challenge, and modify when we have low self-esteem by targeting our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. It follows principles from research-supported treatments for self-esteem, cognitive behavioral, acceptance and commitment, and mindfulness therapies. This program will give you the skills and knowledge to:

• Understand the origins of your own self-esteem
• See how low self-esteem is maintained
• Learn helpful and unhelpful thinking styles and how to modify unhelpful ones

Program Sessions

Session 1: Introduction to Self-Esteem

Overview: The program begins by giving an overview into what is self-esteem, how it develops, and what it may look like.

Activities: Think about how your low self-esteem developed, check-in on your mood as you begin this program, and understand the difference in thoughts and feelings.

Session 2: Thought Process and Self-Esteem

Overview: Understand faulty thinking patterns, rules and assumptions by which we live that may be associated with lower self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness.

Activities: Monitor your negative thinking patterns and begin to understand automatic thoughts.

Session 3: Low Self-Esteem in Day-to-Day Life

Overview: Identify types of thoughts that put you in "at-risk situations" for developing and maintaining low self-esteem, and visualize a model of how these feelings are maintained.

Activities: Use a thought record to challenge your biased expectations and negative self-evaluations and to lower the intensity of your emotions.

Session 4: Modification of Unhelpful Rules and Beliefs

Overview: Understand the themes in your life that lead to your rigid beliefs and assumptions to develop balanced core beliefs.

Activities: Evaluate and challenge core beliefs to develop balanced ones.

Session 5: Developing the Self

Overview: Using an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) framework, learn to embrace thoughts and feelings through psychological flexibility to increase feelings of worth.

Activities: Use the activities to understand your values and develop goals that are in line with these values.

Session 6: Caring for the Mind and Body

Overview: Learn mindfulness strategies to relax your mind and body and cope in stressful situations that are due to low self-esteem.

Activities: Follow the mindfulness practices to find ways to manage low self-esteem and stress that are meaningful to you.

Session 7: Coping with Setbacks

Overview: As with learning any new skill, there may be some lapses in your progress to overcome low self-esteem. Learn skills to help prevent these setbacks and what to do if it does happen to you.

Activities: Use the activities to manage how you can continue to develop these skills and practices in the future.

References

• Enhancing Self-esteem in a community Mental health setting — Julie Hakim-Larson Ph.D., Chris Mruk Ph.D.
• Enhancing Self-esteem Through Mutual Self-disclosure — Robert S. Olds, MS, Assistant Professor, Health Education, School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, 19 Hill Center, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850.