Newsletter January 2018
Hello and welcome to the first ever
Therapy Rooms Newsletter.
The first half of the newsletter is a Monthly hot topic for clients to access and the second half is focused on news and information for therapists
FOR CLIENTS
This Month’s Hot Topic….
Self-esteem
What is self-esteem?
Self-esteem is the value or worth that we attribute to our ‘self’, it is a set of beliefs that we hold about our ‘self’ that may include our appearance, abilities, emotions and behaviours.
Too little self-esteem can lead to feeling defeated or a fore runner for depression, too much self-esteem can look like narcissistic personality disorder symptoms which can hinders or damage our ability to build genuine, loving relationships. Ideally, we want to aim somewhere in between, maintaining a realistic and positive view of our ‘self’.
Why is self-esteem so important?
If we have too little self-esteem we don’t believe that we can achieve our goals and therefore may not attempt experiences reinforcing our beliefs and so on and so on. If we have healthy self esteem, we believe that we can achieve and have a positive and assertive attitude towards our goals
Signs of healthy self-esteem
We probably have a good sense of who we are if we exhibit the following signs:
• Confidence
• Ability to say no
• Positive outlook
• Ability to see overall strengths and weaknesses and accept them
• Negative experiences don’t impact overall perspective
• Ability to express our needs
What affects self-esteem?
Although genetic factors to do with our personality can be part of what makes up our self-esteem, we are also affected by our experiences in life. When we consistently receive overly critical or negative assessments from care-givers, family members and friends, we will likely experience problems with low self-esteem. Potential illness, disabilities, physical limitations, the way we think and even our job can have an impact on your self-esteem.
Signs of low self-esteem
It can be helpful to work on how we perceive our self if we exhibit any of these signs of poor self-esteem:
• Negative outlook
• Lack of confidence
• Inability to express our needs
• Focus on our weaknesses
• Feelings of shame, depression, or anxiety
• Belief that others are better than us
• Trouble accepting positive feedback
• Fear of failure
For more information…
If you think that you could benefit from exploring how you could improve your self-esteem, why not contact one of counsellors. We are all qualified and experienced in helping clients find their true ‘Self’. See ‘Our Therapists’ page for more details on how we may help you.
FOR THERAPISTS
Room to Grow – ‘your business, your way’
This isn’t just another room hire venue. My vision is to build a professional service to reach out and meet the therapeutic needs of our local community. I hope that by creating a safe space for both therapist and client we can begin fulfilling this need. You are welcome to participate at any level that suits you and your business needs.
Counselling and Psychotherapy in Private Practice can sometimes feel quite isolating, so we aim to meet regularly to enable us to build a support network. We all have our specialities or areas of interest and we can use this space to find out about each other so that we can refer clients appropriately, again this is optional to suit your needs.
I am a qualified trainer and I am happy to develop training/workshops. I recently provided a half day training on Suicide Intervention incorporating BACP ethical framework. This was well received and helped to develop more confidence in working with vulnerable clients as well as establishing connections with fellow professionals. Let me know if there are topics that you would like more information. We already have a lot of expertise between us on areas such as mental health, grief, eating disorders, addictions, couples counselling, to name but a few. Therefore if anyone wishes to make use of the rooms to hold workshops or information sessions, please contact Toni for more information on how this might work for you.
Warm wishes,
Toni Buffham