Self-Esteem Therapy
Self-Esteem Therapy in Hampshire
If you often view yourself in a negative light or struggle to believe in your own worth, you may be experiencing low self-esteem.
It’s natural to feel self-doubt at times, like before an important interview or when meeting with new people. But if you find yourself feeling this way much of the time, it can gradually erode your confidence, and your sense of self, even leading you to dislike who you are.
Low self-esteem can make you overly self-critical, sensitive to criticism, and more likely to seek validation through people-pleasing. You may experience a range of painful emotions, such as sadness, shame, or anxiety, and notice that it affects your relationships and overall wellbeing.
If you’re experiencing these emotions, remember, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to feel this way forever. Through self-esteem therapy with me, Dr Sonney Gullu-McPhee, you can learn to build a healthier, more compassionate view of yourself. Using a blend of Schema Therapy, CBT, and Compassion-Focused Therapy, I can help you reconnect with your strengths and build your confidence.
If you are ready to take the first steps towards feeling better about yourself, I warmly invite you to contact me via phone or email, or by filling out a form for a 15-minute complimentary consultation.
Understanding Low Self-Esteem
Low self-esteem often stems from early life experiences, particularly during childhood. The way we are treated growing up shapes the beliefs we develop about ourselves, and these early messages can continue to influence how we see ourselves well into adulthood.
Trauma or adverse experiences in childhood often contribute to low self-confidence. Sometimes the causes are easy to recognise, but at other times, they can be harder to spot, which means you might struggle to understand exactly where your feelings stem from.
Emotionally, people with low self-esteem have a self-blaming nature, are highly critical, and constantly doubt themselves. They often focus on their weaknesses and flaws over their strengths and achievements, and prefer to discount praise and compliments.
Behaviourally, if you experience low self-worth, you’ll probably avoid being assertive, apologise often, avoid new experiences and challenges, feel shy and withdrawn, and feel a strong need to please and place others’ needs before your own.
Physically, you may experience fatigue and low energy, muscular tension, trouble focusing, and poor sleeping and eating habits.
If you’re struggling with poor self-esteem, remember, help is at hand, and you can learn to love yourself unconditionally. As your clinical psychologist and self-esteem therapist, I can help you understand the reasons behind your low sense of self and rebuild your confidence through bespoke self-worth therapy.
Here are some of the common causes of poor self-esteem:
Traumatic events, such as physical, sexual or emotional abuse, physical or emotional neglect, rejection, and being bullied, can all affect how you perceive your self-image.
For example, if you were often criticised by your parents as a child and didn’t receive praise, this may have impacted your self-image and emotional regulation in adulthood. Other traumatic events include bereavement, being assaulted, accidents, serious illness, and loss.
Negative self-image leads to low self-esteem because it distorts your self-perception. This, coupled with a poor body image, can negatively influence your identity and result in depression or an eating disorder.
Not valuing yourself may put you at risk of mental health conditions and even physical illnesses.
Another common reason for developing low self-esteem is being in negative relationships and failing to establish boundaries.
People who grow up with abusive or narcissistic parents often develop people-pleasing behaviours and place their self-worth keeping others’ needs before theirs and making others happy. They often go above and beyond to satisfy somebody in their household while neglecting themselves.
Constantly comparing yourself to others can trap you in a cycle of self-doubt and contribute to low self-esteem. This pattern may stem from early life experiences, such as growing up with parents who judged, criticised or compared you to your siblings or others. Over time, these early comparisons can shape the way you measure your own self worth.
In today’s world, the influence of media and social media can intensify this pattern. Being constantly exposed to idealised images and lifestyles can lead us to feel inadequate about ourselves and our lives.
People with low self-compassion and self-kindness often create a negative relationship with themselves.
You may feel like you don’t deserve self-care or love, and choose to turn elsewhere to seek validation rather than within yourself.
Living in an age where everything needs to be “just perfect” can make nothing seem good enough. Perfectionism makes you set your goals unobtainably high, and this constant focus on self-improvement can lead to self-criticism and unhappiness.
If you’re dealing with a fear of failure, you’re more likely to set unrealistic expectations of yourself and feel miserable when you fail to achieve your goals.
Challenges Addressed in Low Self-Esteem Therapy
Low self-esteem can quietly shape the way you see yourself, your worth, and your ability to cope with life. In therapy, we’ll work together to uncover the roots of your self-perception and begin building a more compassionate, confident relationship with yourself.
Some areas we may focus on include:
You may have internalised harsh messages about who you are or what you’re capable of. We’ll gently explore these beliefs and begin to reframe them with a kinder, more accurate perspective.
If your inner voice is harsh or unforgiving, therapy can help you develop a more supportive internal dialogue, rooted in self-acceptance rather than judgment.
Low self-esteem often stems from earlier experiences — criticism, rejection, bullying, trauma. We’ll create space to understand and heal from the past, so it no longer defines your self-worth.
Whether it’s difficulty setting boundaries, asserting yourself, or believing you’re “good enough,” therapy supports you in showing up more fully and confidently in your life and relationships.
We’ll introduce tools and practices to strengthen your self-worth, develop emotional resilience, and help you treat yourself with the same kindness you offer to others.
How Dr McPhee’s Low-Esteem Therapy Can Help
Therapy can help you explore how you feel about yourself and to begin reshaping your self-image.
Often, it is the beliefs we hold that influence how we interpret and remember daily experiences. When you struggle with low self-esteem, you may find yourself discounting positive feedback, overlooking your strengths, and focusing almost exclusively on negatives. Over time, this patterns reinforces harsh self-judgements and distorts your view of yourself
Working with a psychologist offers the chance to be heard without judgement. Through personalized self-esteem therapy, I can help you identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that maintain low self-belief and support you in building a healthier, more balanced view of yourself.
My Integrated Low Self-Esteem Therapy Approach
I’m a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and hold an advanced certificate in Schema therapy. In my fifteen years of experience, I’ve been offering a research-backed, compassionate and personalized approach for people struggling with low self-esteem.
My self-esteem therapy approach blends the best of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), compassion-focused therapy (CFT), and schema therapy techniques, personalising each session to fit your needs.
Here’s some more detail about the therapy techniques that I commonly use:
Under schema therapy, poor self-worth is characterised as feeling “not good enough”, which stems from a defectiveness schema. To get to the bottom of your negative feelings towards yourself, I’ll help you address the experiences of trauma, abuse, or neglect that contribute to your poor self-belief.
My CBT for self-confidence sessions are designed to help you identify and modify the negative beliefs and thoughts about yourself that contribute to negative self-talk. I’ll work with you to understand the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and rebuild confidence in yourself.
As your self-esteem therapist, I’ll help you look beyond self-blame and criticism and teach you how to be kinder and compassionate to yourself using compassion-focused therapy.
With the mindfulness techniques incorporated into our sessions, you’ll learn to become more aware of your thoughts and feelings.
My Confidence-Building Therapy Process
Why Choose Dr McPhee for Self-Esteem Therapy?
When you commit to confidence-building therapy with me, you’ll receive a comprehensive and tailored therapeutic approach to rebuilding your self-esteem. I’ll help you reflect and regulate your emotions, so you can work towards improving your self-image.
My treatment for self-esteem focuses on personal growth and confidence-building strategies to help you see yourself and the world in a more positive light.
Self-Esteem Therapy in Hampshire or Online
Overcoming self-esteem issues can be difficult to accomplish alone. If you’re ready to become more confident and optimistic in yourself, join me in my confidence-building therapy sessions.
I’m here to work with you at your pace and guide you as you move away from the emotions that hold you back from living to your full potential. Choose between in-person sessions at my Hampshire clinic or online sessions and learn to build a confident and positive self.
Contact me at info@drmcphee.co.uk, or call me to schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation.
Low self-esteem can manifest in many ways, with symptoms ranging from negative self-talk to difficulty asserting yourself. Reach out to me if you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms.
Seek professional help immediately if low self-esteem is impacting your life and well-being. You can get help even if you’ve been experiencing symptoms for a long time and haven’t improved on your own.
Yes, you can seek help for low self-worth anytime. Therapy is often especially helpful when low self-esteem has deep roots. Change is still possible, even if these patterns have been with you for years.
Yes. Low self-esteem is not a fixed trait. With support and the right approach, you can begin to shift how you see and treat yourself — and build a more grounded sense of self-worth.
No. Many people seek therapy simply because they’re tired of feeling “not good enough.” You don’t need a diagnosis to benefit from support in this area.
It can. As your self-esteem grows, it often naturally leads to feeling more secure in social settings, work environments, and personal relationships.
Yes. Online therapy offers the same supportive space to explore your experiences and build self-worth — all from the comfort and privacy of your own home.
Please schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation to explore how we might work together.