Self Esteem Therapy San Diego, CA

Do you often feel self-conscious, undeserving, or insecure?

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Self esteem therapy can help you develop self-compassion, confidence, and the ability to feel happy and comfortable in your own skin.

Do you have low confidence? Do you often feel insecure or uncomfortable in certain situations? Are you constantly apologizing to others and feeling guilty or shameful? Perhaps you don’t feel like you can truly be “you” without worrying what others are thinking about you. Maybe you feel like you are unloveable, awkward, or lack competence in certain areas of your life. Low self-esteem can show up in many areas of our lives — from our appearance, to our personality, talents, relationships, and more. Curious if you are struggling with low self-esteem?

Experiencing low self esteem is actually quite common

We live in a society that holds very high expectations of us, and people are constantly striving for self-improvement. This can sometimes cause us to feel as if we are inadequate, or aren’t “good enough”. It can also lead to self-comparison and perhaps trying to live our lives in a way that we feel like we “should”…even if it doesn’t fully align with our values. Many people experience low self-esteem at one point or another in their lives, and you are definitely not alone.

Self Esteem Therapy Can Help

Experiencing low self-esteem can negatively impact every aspect of our lives. When we don’t feel good about who we are on the inside, it negatively affects how we show up in the world. Self esteem issues can interfere with our relationships, career, body image, and more. Self esteem therapy can help get to the root cause of when your self esteem issues started and why they are persisting. We can then help you to work through these issues and develop healthy self esteem.

Healing from poor self esteem through therapy can come with many benefits, including:

What Does Therapy for Self Esteem Look Like?

Treatment for low self esteem can be incredibly effective and improve all areas of your life. In therapy, I start by providing a safe space for you to share any and all concerns that you are experiencing regarding your current self esteem struggles. We will explore and identify negative thought and behavioral patterns related to your low self esteem that are persisting in your life and that are no longer serving you. We will help you uncover hidden belief systems that are causing these negative thoughts and emotions to persist, and work through these. Then we will help you break these thought patterns and replace them with more positive, realistic self-talk. I utilize EMDR therapy often in my self esteem work with clients, as it can be a very powerful tool in helping us to change deep-rooted limiting beliefs that one may have.

Why Book a Self Esteem Therapy Session with Me?

Low self esteem is such a common struggle that everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. Whether it was just in a specific scenario or in all aspects of life — it is safe to say that the majority of people know what it is like to feel insecure. I have experience working with many clients that have struggled with low self-esteem. Ranging from suicidal ideation, poor body image, low self-confidence in relationships, and just overall insecurity about one’s personality — I have helped clients with all of these issues and more. I have done this in a variety of treatment settings including residential treatment centers, psychiatric hospitals, school settings, outpatient clinics, and private practice.

As mentioned above, I tend to utilize EMDR Therapy often in my work with clients that are struggling with poor body image. This is a unique and integrative approach that can truly tap in to deeper negative belief systems that one may hold about themselves and the world. EMDR Therapy allows you to process beliefs and emotions on an unconscious level and goes even deeper than just traditional “talk therapy” allows. Therefore, this is where I see the most magic happen in session with my clients — when we are really able to utilize this tool and rewire the way that their mind thinks.

You CAN feel confident, empowered, and free to live your life on your own terms and show up fully as the best version of yourself

Contact me to schedule a 15 minute phone consultation and see if Self Esteem Therapy in San Diego is right for you!

My Standard Rate is $200 Per Session (50 Minutes)

As an out-of-network provider, I have partnered with Mentaya to help my clients save money on therapy. Use the out of network benefits calculator to see if you qualify for reimbursement for my services. Learn more about my rates and insurance.

You may have some questions about seeing a therapist for self esteem...

What are signs of low self esteem?

“Low self esteem” is a broad term and can encompass a variety of signs and symptoms. Common symptoms of low self-esteem include: feeling insecure and uncomfortable often, difficulty speaking up and prioritizing your wants/needs, saying “I’m sorry” and feeling unnecessary guilt or shame for every day actions, not feeling deserving or capable of love, feeling unworthy, difficulty making your own choices, the need to constantly take care of others and prioritize their needs over your own, and critical negative internal dialogue. Curious if you are struggling with low self-esteem? Take this online quiz and find out.

Why do people develop low self-esteem?

Low self esteem involves the way that a person sees themselves. It can sometimes develop due to self-comparison of others, not meeting expectations of other people, not receiving enough praise or love from others, or perhaps the environment that you grew up in or are currently in. It can also develop due to specific scenarios where you may have felt like you “failed” or didn’t do as well in a situation as you had hoped to. There are various reasons why a person may develop low self esteem; none of them are “wrong”. We are all unique when it comes to our self esteem, and whatever the reason for your low self-esteem, it is valid.

Doesn’t everyone experience low self esteem?

Experiencing low self esteem at one point or another in your life is completely normal. It is very common to experience bouts of low self-esteem or feel insecure in specific situations. However, if you find yourself feeling insecure or experiencing low confidence often…then it could be worth seeking some additional help for. Just because it is common to experience low self-esteem at times, that does not mean that you don’t deserve help. You are worthy and deserving of help, confidence, and inner peace.

Why do I struggle so much with my self esteem? My life seems like it is pretty good, yet I just feel so empty and unhappy.

Sometimes, self esteem issues may be present…and we may have no idea why. It is possible for your life to seem “perfect” or as if everything is going well on the outside – yet you still feel lost, hopeless, or insecure on the inside. You may not know why your self-esteem is so low, and therapy is a safe space to explore this. Self esteem counseling can help you get to the root cause of where your low self-esteem developed, why it is persisting, and learn which steps to take in order to alleviate the feelings of insecurity and low self-worth.

Can low self esteem lead to other mental health issues?

Low self esteem can manifest and negatively impact various areas of your life, including your overall mental health. It is common for individuals experiencing feeling of low self-esteem to also experience depression, anxiety, and possibly feelings of hopelessness. It is also common to experience low self esteem if you have experienced trauma or are struggling with an eating disorder or poor body image. Your mental health matters, and the way that you view your overall self-esteem is definitely tied into this. You are worthy of receiving help; you deserve to experience self confidence and high self esteem.

What is the best therapy for low self-esteem?

There are a variety of different therapeutic techniques that are very effective in treating low self-esteem. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be very helpful in identifying negative thought patterns that have been creating and facilitating the ongoing feelings of low self-esteem. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy can be incredibly helpful in getting to the root of where your low self-esteem developed, and shifting your belief system to a more positive and realistic view of yourself and the world around you. I use these therapeutic techniques often in my approach, along with others including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), strength-based psychology, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). For a more detailed explanation of these therapeutic modalities, please see below.

Common Symptoms Often Associated with Low Self Esteem

Depression - Experiencing constant feelings and thoughts related to poor self esteem can lead to symptoms of depression.
Anxiety - Experiencing low self esteem can lead to heightened feelings of worry, nervousness, insecurity, and overall overall anxiety.
Body Image - Experiencing low self esteem sometimes leads to feelings of poor body image, which is the way that an individual views their external appearance.
Guilt or Shame - Feelings of low self esteem may lead to unnecessary and often feelings of guilt or shame.
Codependency - Feelings of low self esteem may lead to codependency in relationships, which is characterized by an individual relying on others for approval and a sense of identity.

Eating Disorders - Sometimes, individuals that have very low self-esteem may develop an eating disorder because they feel that changing their external appearance may change their self-esteem levels.Eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviors that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning. Eating disorders have the potential to be extremely dangerous. Common eating disorders that are seen alongside poor body image include: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and other unspecified feeding and eating disorders. Learn more about eating disorders and treatment for their symptoms.

Related Self Esteem Treatments

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that examines the relationship between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It can help you to become more aware of negative thoughts so that you can view difficult situations in a new way, and thus respond to them more effectively. Working to improve low self esteem will involve taking a look at the relationship between your thoughts and emotions, as well as your belief system about yourself and the world. CBT techniques can allow you to restructure these thoughts into a more positive way, so that you can view the world differently.

EMDR Therapy

In Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, you are guided by your therapist to engage in bilateral stimulation of your eye movements while imagining distressing scenarios. The act of bilateral stimulation will help your brain to fully process the distressing feelings and events, shifting your attention towards more positive thoughts and helping anxiety to dissipate. EMDR Therapy has been shown to be effective to help with a variety of mental health conditions, including low self esteem. EMDR therapy has also been shown to have long-lasting effects in terms of symptom reduction.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment for behavior change. In ACT, we will explore your guiding values in life and help you determine which committed actions you would like to take in order to live in alignment with your values. Identifying and working towards these values can be incredibly effective in decreasing symptoms of low self-esteem, and can increase overall feelings of self-compassion. Living in alignment with your values can help you to regain a sense of purpose and joy in your life.

Strength-Based Therapy

Strength-based therapy is a type of positive psychotherapy that focuses on one’s internal strengths and resourcefulness, rather than weaknesses, shortcomings, or failures. I have found great success in using this therapeutic modality with clients, as I feel that it really does us no good to focus on where we feel that we may be lacking in life. I believe that we all have the internal strengths and resources to live the lives that we truly desire — sometimes, it just takes a little bit of help and guidance to realize this. Learning how to utilize your natural strengths can be transformative and can significantly increase overall levels of self-esteem.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a therapeutic modality that focuses on solutions and what has worked in the past. Instead of examining negative patterns or identifying “problems”, SFBT promotes solution-oriented and positive thinking that is so beneficial for the decreased self-esteem and repeated frustrations that are so often experienced throughout one’s life.

Self Esteem Therapy in San Diego, CA

If you’re ready to overcome your low self esteem and learn more about my self esteem therapy services, please use the button above or call (619) 800-5393 for a free 15 minute phone consultation.

Self emBody Therapy
EMDR, Eating Disorders, Anxiety
5330 Carroll Canyon Rd Suite 120,
San Diego, CA 92121
(619) 800-5393

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