Online Self Esteem therapists in Wanstead, England ENG, United Kingdom UK

Find your inner self worth as you address and heal from the underlying burdens contributing to low self esteem.  

Our overall wellbeing is affected by our level of self-esteem...to what degree we value ourselves as worthy of respect, are self-confident, are able to use our voice to set our boundaries and ask for our needs to be met. Negative thoughts we carry about ourselves at our core can cause our self-esteem to be low. The goal of therapy is to understand these core beliefs we hold about ourselves and reframe them or alter them in line with the present so that we can engage with life in a healthy way that brings us peace and happiness.  

How Therapy Can Help with Self-Esteem - The way you see yourself shapes everything—your relationships, your career choices, how you handle challenges, and even your overall happiness. If you struggle with low self-esteem, you're likely your own harshest critic, and that internal voice can be exhausting and limiting. The good news is that self-esteem isn't fixed—it can grow and strengthen with the right support, and therapy offers a powerful path toward seeing yourself more clearly and compassionately. What Low Self-Esteem Looks Like Low self-esteem goes beyond occasional self-doubt. It's a persistent negative view of yourself that might show up as: Constant self-criticism or negative self-talk Feeling like you're not good enough, no matter what you achieve Difficulty accepting compliments or believing positive feedback Comparing yourself unfavorably to others Perfectionism and fear of failure People-pleasing and difficulty saying no Avoiding challenges because you assume you'll fail Staying in unhealthy relationships because you don't think you deserve better Feeling like an imposter in your own life Apologizing excessively or taking blame for things that aren't your fault Difficulty making decisions because you don't trust yourself These patterns can hold you back from pursuing opportunities, building healthy relationships, and living authentically. How Therapy Helps Uncovering the Roots Low self-esteem doesn't appear out of nowhere—it's usually built over time through experiences like childhood criticism, emotional neglect, bullying, trauma, failed relationships, or repeated disappointments. Therapy helps you understand where your negative self-view originated. This isn't about blaming others; it's about recognizing that your inner critic was learned, which means it can be unlearned. Challenging the Inner Critic That harsh voice in your head isn't telling you the truth—it's repeating old messages that may have never been accurate in the first place. Therapy, particularly Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), helps you identify these negative thought patterns and challenge them with evidence and compassion. You learn to question thoughts like "I'm worthless" or "I always mess things up" and replace them with more balanced, realistic perspectives. Separating Your Worth from Your Performance Many people tie their self-esteem to achievements, appearance, or others' approval. Therapy helps you recognize that your worth is inherent—it doesn't depend on what you do, how you look, or what others think of you. This shift from conditional to unconditional self-worth is transformative and freeing. Processing Past Wounds If your low self-esteem stems from trauma, abuse, or painful experiences, therapies like EMDR can help process these memories so they have less emotional power over you. When you heal the wounds that taught you to see yourself negatively, your self-esteem naturally begins to improve. Developing Self-Compassion Self-compassion is treating yourself with the same kindness you'd offer a good friend. Therapy helps you cultivate this gentler internal voice, recognizing that everyone makes mistakes, has flaws, and struggles sometimes—and that doesn't make you less worthy. You learn to comfort yourself rather than attack yourself when things go wrong. Identifying Your Strengths and Values Low self-esteem often creates tunnel vision where you only see your perceived flaws and failures. Therapy helps you take a more balanced inventory—recognizing your strengths, accomplishments, positive qualities, and the values that guide you. Many people are genuinely surprised to discover how much they've been discounting about themselves. Setting Healthy Boundaries When you don't value yourself, you're more likely to let others mistreat you, overextend yourself, or stay in situations that diminish you. Therapy helps you recognize that you deserve respect and teaches you how to set boundaries that protect your wellbeing. Each time you honor a boundary, you reinforce your own worth. Building Assertiveness Learning to express your needs, opinions, and feelings without excessive fear or guilt is crucial for healthy self-esteem. Therapy provides a safe space to practice assertiveness and develop confidence in your right to take up space, have needs, and be heard. Breaking People-Pleasing Patterns If you've learned to derive worth from making others happy or avoiding conflict, therapy helps you examine this pattern and gradually shift toward living more authentically. You learn that disappointing someone occasionally doesn't make you a bad person, and that your needs matter just as much as anyone else's. Celebrating Progress, Not Just Perfection Therapy helps you recognize and celebrate small wins and efforts, not just major achievements. You learn to acknowledge growth, courage, and trying—even when things don't turn out perfectly. This builds a more sustainable, realistic foundation for self-esteem. Experiencing Unconditional Acceptance Perhaps one of the most healing aspects of therapy is experiencing genuine acceptance from your therapist. In person-centred therapy especially, you're met with unconditional positive regard—you're valued simply for being you, not for what you accomplish or how you perform. This experience can begin to rewire your belief about your own worthiness. Types of Therapy That Help Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Directly targets negative thought patterns and helps you develop more balanced thinking about yourself. Person-Centred Therapy: Offers unconditional acceptance that helps you internalize a more positive self-view. EMDR: Processes traumatic experiences that damaged your self-esteem. Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT): Specifically designed to build self-compassion and counter self-criticism. Psychodynamic Therapy: Explores how early relationships and experiences shaped your self-concept. Group Therapy: Provides connection with others who struggle similarly and offers opportunities to receive positive feedback and support. What Growth Looks Like As therapy progresses and your self-esteem strengthens, you might notice: Quieter, kinder internal dialogue More willingness to try new things or take healthy risks Ability to accept compliments and believe them Setting and maintaining boundaries without excessive guilt Making decisions with more confidence Less comparison to others Greater resilience when things go wrong Choosing relationships and situations that honor your worth Feeling more comfortable being yourself.  

I offer support for low self-esteem and issues related to self-worth, including persistent self-criticism, feelings of inadequacy, shame, and difficulty recognising or trusting your own value. Many people I work with struggle with an internal sense of not being “enough,” which can affect relationships, decision-making, boundaries, and overall emotional wellbeing. My approach is grounded in psychoanalytic and relational psychotherapy, providing a safe and reflective space to explore how these beliefs about the self may have developed over time. Together, we may look at early attachment experiences, relational dynamics, and internalised messages that have shaped how you see yourself and relate to others. I work in a trauma-informed way, recognising how experiences such as emotional neglect, criticism, rejection, or relational trauma can contribute to ongoing difficulties with self-esteem. Therapy offers a space to gently explore and begin to shift these patterns, at a pace that feels safe and manageable. I also integrate somatic awareness to help you notice how self-critical beliefs and emotions are held in the body, supporting greater grounding and self-regulation. Psychoeducation may be used to deepen understanding of these processes, and where appropriate, I may incorporate EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques / tapping) to support emotional processing and reduce intensity of self-critical states. Therapy is collaborative and focused on developing a more compassionate, stable, and realistic sense of self, supporting you to relate to yourself with greater acceptance, confidence, and ease over time.  

Self-worth is part of self-esteem  

Low self esteem can be paralysing and can lead to other issues. however it does not need to be this way. I use both my personal and professional experience to help clients find rediscover themselves and thrive in life. I use both counselling and coaching skills to support clients on their journey.  

At the core of it, no one should be able to talk you into or out of self esteem. We help you to earn this respect from and by yourself.  

I hear the struggle you're facing with self-doubt and its impact on your life. It's heartbreaking to feel like you're not reaching your full potential due to a lack of self-confidence. This can affect every area of your life, from personal relationships to professional achievements and social interactions. It's common to feel like you're stuck in a cycle of self-doubt, where negative self-talk and fear of failure hold you back. But know that you're not alone in this feeling. Many people face similar challenges, and there is hope for change. Here are some ways we can work together to help you break free from these limitations: Identify and Challenge Negative Self-Talk: We can explore the roots of your self-doubt and develop strategies to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Build Self-Confidence: By focusing on your strengths and past successes, we can build a stronger sense of self-worth. Set and Achieve Goals: Together, we can set realistic goals in your personal, work, and social life, and work on strategies to achieve them. Develop Healthy Relationships: We can explore ways to communicate your needs effectively and build more fulfilling relationships. Remember, seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. You deserve to live a life where you feel confident and empowered to reach your full potential. Contact me today, and let's start this journey together. I'm here to support you every step of the way.  

When you have low self-esteem you can feel unloved, worthless, lack confidence and think negatively about yourself. Counselling is a supportive process which can help you to explore the way you feel, get to the root of what has happened for you and can help you grow and build a healthy sense of self-esteem and confidence.  

Self esteem can be said to be an individual's subjective evaluation of their own self-worth, based on opinions and beliefs of self. When a sense of low self esteem affects one's daily life, it can cause one to see self in a negative and critical light, reinforcing underlying doubts and fears and can eventually lead to depression and anxiety.  

Self esteem is the core of our well being. We often lose it through life experience but we can regain it. I find EMDR particularly helpful in developing greater Self esteem  

True self-esteem comes from the realisation that you are already whole. We dissolve the external masks and the pathologising voices, allowing you to feel and experience your intrinsic value. We empower you to explore your inner world and find the power and Love you seek already within you.  

Each therapist has their own specialties, and we focus on connecting you with the clinician whose experience best fits your needs. Therapy may involve developing coping strategies, processing past experiences and childhood patterns, and cultivating greater self-compassion and emotional well-being.  

Low self-worth is often experienced as a belief - something to be challenged, reframed, or worked on. In practice, it tends to live deeper than that: in the body's habitual posture, in the contraction that happens before speaking in a group, in the felt sense of taking up too much or too little space. This work reaches those layers and creates the conditions for a different experience of yourself to emerge - not as an idea, but as something your body actually registers as true.  

Low self-esteem can shape how you see yourself, what you expect from relationships, what you tolerate, and what you believe you deserve. It often develops through repeated experiences of criticism, neglect, rejection, comparison, shame, or feeling unseen. My approach is warm, reflective, and focused on helping you understand the deeper roots of how you came to relate to yourself in this way, so that you can build greater self-worth, self-trust, and confidence.  

In modern life, we often feel that self-esteem is something that comes from our achievements, successes and how we are perceived by others. We often fall into the trap of believing that other people are the cause of our low self-esteem. However, self-esteem flows from the inside-out. What this means is that as we get back in touch with who we really are and allow ourselves to flow from that space our self-esteem naturally begins to increase.  

At ComposurePsychology we have Clinical Psychologists with many years experience working with people to understand and overcome low self esteem concerns, to learn and practice new strategies for raising their confidence. We draw from evidence based therapies including; CBT, ACT, CFT, SFT, DBT, EMDR, systemic, narrative, psychodynamic and others.  

Paul Shepard wrote; “The grief and sense of loss that we often attribute to a failure in our personality, is actually a feeling of emptiness where a beautiful and strange otherness should have been encountered.” Ecotherapy and contact with nature aims to fill the void.  

Low self-esteem often develops through early life experiences, relationships, or messages that lead us to question our value. Through trauma-informed coaching, we explore the beliefs and experiences that have shaped how you see yourself, bringing awareness to the patterns that no longer serve you. Together, we work to build self-compassion, challenge limiting beliefs, strengthen your relationship with yourself, and develop a sense of confidence that comes from self-acceptance rather than external validation.  

Self-esteem is a problematic concept, because self-esteem is tenuous for all of us, however confident or secure we might be. But if this is a particular issue for you, it means that you are not feeling good about yourself. I will help you to identify the ways in which you are not comfortable, find out where this comes from in your biography, and help you to resolve the experience, so that you can feel good about yourself again.