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Self-Esteem Issues

Self-esteem, which is the evaluative aspect of the self-concept, and therefore the evaluation of a person’s own competence, is related to accepting and approving of one’s own characteristics, and greatly impacts individuals’ attitudes, emotional experiences, future behavior, and long-term psychological adjustment. It actually influences the way in which each person experiences his/her world as well as his/her aspirations and decisions to be made during important life moments such as the choice of occupation and life partner and his/her functioning in the workplace as well as decisions to take certain risks to protect himself/herself against unnecessary threats.

Low self-esteem, and the problems which arise from it, often causes the basic problems leading to psychopathology. A low or negative self-esteem and related conditions form part of the root problems, which should be addressed by the psychotherapist. In psychotherapy, a patient’s self-esteem is not treated in isolation, the “whole self,” including self-esteem, is treated. Related concepts such as “self-image,” “self-concept,” “self-understanding,” the “ideal self,” “body image,” “self-presentation,” and “self-actualization” are involved in the process within the context of a particular patient’s emotional problems, his/her expectations of therapy, and his/her personal history.