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Self Esteem Therapy San Diego, CA

Do you struggle with feelings of self-worth, confidence, or what you deserve?

Self esteem therapy can help you learn how to feel empowered, confident, and happy with who you are

Do you struggle with self-confidence? Is it difficult to give yourself credit? Are you concerned that you can’t fully be you without being rejected by others, or even yourself? Do you often feel insecure or uncomfortable in certain situations? Perhaps you battle feelings of shame or doubt, which interferes in important areas of your life. Maybe you feel like no one could truly accept or love you, so you prioritize others over yourself. Your self esteem can impact your mood, motivation, communication, appearance, perceived self-worth, personality, relationships, and more. Not sure if you struggle with low self esteem?

Struggling with self esteem is natural, and it’s more normal than many will admit...

In a society where critiques and falling short take center stage, it makes complete sense. We compare ourselves to others, and when we don’t others do it for us. Although there is nothing wrong with wanting to grow (as a person, in your career, etc.), we can find ourselves noticing what someone else has, or is able to do, that we don’t currently identify with… and that can be discouraging. What if we aren’t “good enough” to be or do what we see in others? Even if we are raised with the idea that we can do anything we put our mind to, it can still be hard to believe when it comes to ourselves. This can lead us to feeling as though being ourselves is not the best route, so we try to be like someone else… which can evolve into devaluing ourselves completely in the process. However, regardless of what you think you know, or have been told by others, most people experience low self esteem at one point or another; they might just hide it really well. And yes, that includes whomever you may be thinking of right now. Simply put, you are not alone and you don’t have to keep feeling this way.

Self Esteem Therapy Can Help

Man Receiving Support After Seeing a Self Esteem Therapist in San Diego, CA Self esteem issues impact how we feel about ourselves on the inside; which, in turn, impacts how we present ourselves on the outside. What makes matters worse is that having low self esteem increases the difficulty of breaking free and engaging in patterns that can make us feel otherwise. Self esteem counseling can help you better understand how your low confidence developed, as well as why it still exists today. From there, we can begin to work through these issues by developing strategies that can lead to the healthy and high self esteem you deserve.

Self esteem counseling can result in, but is not limited to:

What Does Therapy for Self Esteem Look Like?

Man Having Breakthrough in Self Esteem Therapy Session in San Diego, CA In my treatment for low self esteem, I utilize various approaches that support and connect with you as a person. I start by getting to know you, so that I can provide the space and safety for you to share whatever it is that you are experiencing that leads to your struggles with self esteem. Together, we will explore the perceptions and life events that prevent you from overcoming your low self esteem and the patterns you developed as a result that are no longer serving you. Through this, I will be there every step of the way as you begin to identify unconscious belief systems that are causing these negative thoughts and emotions to persist, so that you can process and redefine whatever doesn’t align with the “you” today. By processing and redefining these old beliefs and patterns, we will be able to develop and implement improved patterns that are both positive and authentic. My positive therapy approach focuses on empowerment and the individual’s strengths that they may or may not be aware of; and can be a very powerful tool in changing deep-rooted limiting beliefs that one may have.

Why Book a Self Esteem Therapy Session with Me?

Spencer Chernick, LMFT - ADHD, Couples, Teens, Children - San Diego, CA 92109 In all of my years of experience in the field, regardless of whether I am working with an individual, couple, family, child, teen, or adult, struggles with low self esteem plays a part at some point or another. Whether it is connected to one struggle, or multiple struggles, I can easily say that low self esteem and low confidence is what I have the most experience with. Despite how many ways low self esteem presents itself, I have experience working with many clients that struggle in many ways that self esteem creates obstacles. Ranging from how it impacts our relationships with others to how we view ourselves, I have helped clients with all of these issues and more. My specific approach is built for low self esteem, and I have found success in a variety of treatment settings including school settings, community settings, over the phone, online and in private practice.

With Positive Therapy as my primary therapeutic approach, my style is specifically geared toward low confidence and low self esteem; as it focuses on empowering and identifying strengths in the client. It is one of the newer approaches in therapy and has a unique and integrative approach that is extremely useful for current negative thought patterns and past events that can negatively impact the present. This Positive Therapy approach allows you to process beliefs and emotions in an environment free from judgement or shame, while providing productive mindsets and solution-focused problem-solving during times of great difficulty. It is this comfort, safety and positivity that has resulted in so many of my clients breaking through what they thought they couldn’t, and feeling better than they ever thought they could… I would love to continue this trend with you.

Are you ready to shed self-doubt and experience high self esteem and confidence?

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)
Prefer a longer session time? Just ask for details!

I do not accept insurance but I do offer Superbills that can be presented to insurance companies for reimbursement. Learn more about my rates and insurance.

Typical questions regarding seeing a therapist for self esteem...

Typically, poor self esteem refers to poor self image, or holding one’s self in low regard. Common signs of low self esteem include: insecurity and/or discomfort with one’s self, difficulty putting yourself in scenarios where vulnerability, rejection or shame are possible, lack of prioritizing your wants/needs, feeling unnecessary guilt or shame for every day actions, not feeling deserving or capable of love or other positive life experiences, worthlessness, hopelessness, difficulty making decisions confidently, the need to consistently prioritize and take care of others, and critical thought or self-talk patterns. Wondering if you have low self esteem? Take a free online quiz now.

Unfortunately, struggles with low self esteem can result in additional life struggles; and even other mental health issues. Not only can it harm your overall mental health – which is important – low self esteem can also manifest into feelings of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, worthlessness, and hypercriticism towards yourself; which can result in various other diagnoses. Low self esteem can also be a side effect of some other trauma or life struggle, which only increases the difficulty of overcoming such obstacles. Whether it is the cause or the result of other difficulties in your life, you deserve to experience self confidence and high self esteem.

Although every individual’s struggle is specific to them, and therefore experiences improvement based on a treatment tailored to them specifically, low self esteem is most often treated by therapists through assisting and teaching mindset and thought pattern techniques that challenge how someone thinks about themselves or events in their lives. Clients are also taught strategies that assist with maintaining this type of mindset and improve motivation and follow-through so that the client has specific reasons to challenge negative self-perceptions and continue believing and thinking positively.

Although one’s “root cause” of low self esteem could be different from the person next to them, whatever caused it resulted in a negative self-image. Whether it is the result of not meeting real or imagined expectations, comparing yourself to others, a lack of praise or love from others in life, continued struggles that you can’t figure out how to overcome, or something else entirely, it can have a real impact on your entire life and you aren’t “wrong” or “weak” because of it. Whatever the reason, it’s valid.

Honestly, this can vary person to person. However, behavioral therapies (such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and positive mindset approaches (such as Positive Therapy and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy) have had the highest levels of success with low confidence and low self esteem; as they target negative thought patterns and perceptions of self. Read more about these different therapies below.

Approaches I Use In Self Esteem Therapy

Positive Therapy

Positive Therapy is a relatively new therapeutic approach, influenced by both the humanistic and psychodynamic approaches towards diagnosis and treatment. Its core focus is on moving away from what’s ‘wrong’ or the negative aspects of an individual, and instead move towards what’s good and positive; which promotes solution-focused problem-solving, increased confidence and self esteem, and a positive mindset… all of which play a huge role during childhood development!

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapeutic modality that focuses on the cause and effect patterns we fall into and the power of mindset. Through increased awareness of the negative thinking patterns and factors that influence our less-desired behaviors, CBT provides the tools necessary to effectively break the patterns that put us in our own way and develop productive patterns to put us back in the driver’s seat. In fact, research suggests that behavioral therapy works better for ADHD symptomatology than other forms of therapy.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

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 by individuals with low self esteem.
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Enneagram

The Enneagram is a personality assessment tool that is extremely useful in improving personal self-knowledge and personality development, offering a powerful tool for self-mastery, conflict resolution, team dynamics, leadership and emotional intelligence. I have been certified in the Enneagram, Enneagram Tritype, and Instinctual Types and Subtypes by Katherine Chernick Fauvre, the creator of Enneagram Tritype; who also just so happens to be my mother. Having grown up around this unique form of personality diagnostics I have applied and studied the Enneagram throughout my personal and professional life, and I am very passionate about using its power to help those with low self esteem. Accomplishing these benefits of the Enneagram typically results in increased self esteem as you blame yourself less and understand/accept yourself more. For more information about Katherine Chernick Fauvre, the Enneagram, Enneagram Tritype, and/or Instinctual Types and Subtypes, click the corresponding link(s).

Self Esteem Therapy in San Diego, CA

If you’re ready to feel empowered and good about yourself, and learn more about my self esteem therapy services, please use the button above or call (858) 634-0502 for a free 15 minute phone consultation.

Spencer Chernick, LMFT
ADHD, Teen & Couples Therapy
5330 Carroll Canyon Rd Suite 120,
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 634-0502