To work on your self-esteem means embarking on self-discovery, self-reflecting on your own life and taking steps to build your personal self-esteem. This course has been developed using therapeutic techniques from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Psychosynthesis, Art Therapy, Mindfulness, and Choice Theory.

In our evidence based pilot run of the course using the PANAS Scale*, participants reported a positive effect, with an increase in feelings of inspiration, excitement, enthusiasm and emotional strength. They also reported an increase in personal life satisfaction using The Satisfaction with Life Scale*.

As you navigate through each module, you will be encouraged to carry out self-reflection, in order to aid your understanding of how the theory relates to your own life. You will be taken through practical psychological interventions, steps, tools and supports to update your responses to be more helpful and build your personal self-esteem, self-acceptance and resilience.

* D. Watson, L. A. Clark, and A. Tellegen (1988) PANAS Scale SF
* E. Diener, R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larsen, & S. Griffin (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale.

• Do you often feel that you are not quite “good enough” at what you do?
• Are you very self-critical, always finding fault in what you think, say or do?
• Are you the ‘YES’ person, always quick to go along with others and fulfill their needs rather than check your own needs?
• Do you hold yourself back from situations, people and achievements because of fear of not measuring up?
• Do you give up completely when you hit a roadblock? Do you lack resilience and feel defeated in the face of adversity?
• Do you have a low opinion of yourself? Do you feel self-conscious and constantly wonder how you are being perceived by others, rather than assessing and evaluating your own contribution?
• Do you feel you are not worthy of contentment, satisfaction, love or success?
• Are you the compulsive caregiver? Do you get over-involved in the lives of others with little regard for the impact it has on your health, wellbeing and life choices?
• Are you your own worst critic? Is your internal dialogue fearful, shaming, angry, negative and critical? Do you have a harsh relationship with yourself?

Low self-esteem can be the reason that we behave the way we do. We can act out from this place of insecurity, low self-worth, little self-appreciation or even self-knowledge. If we are not measuring up in our own minds, we can turn to many unhelpful coping mechanisms like denial, self-pity, criticising self and others, holding-fort in a comfort zone, disengaging from effort or goal setting.