Can Psychologist help your self-esteem and coinfidence?

Question

If so, what or how do they do it?

Answer 1

Yes they can.  At first a therapist will just get to know you, urge you to talk about yourself and your life.  It's amazing how just this alone, sharing yourself -- your strengths and your problems -- with a highly skilled and empathetic listener can make you feel better.

So that's part of it, simply letting out a lot of pent-up stuff to a good listener.  A therapist is also very good at identifying thought patterns within you that contribute to how you feel and act.  They will then, through listening and asking questions and giving their own thoughts, show you ways that your thinking is causing you problems.  It can be really amazing when you have a breakthrough this way.

This is called cognitive-behavioral therapy, and it's a method a lot of therapists use.  They may also have you keep a journal, either a free form journal or a structured diary of your thoughts.  Then they can go through it with you and help you sort things out and identify destructive thought patterns.

You probably have a lot of thought patterns that seem like hard and fast reality to you, that you hold sacred, which are actually in some way basically "incorrect" and contribute to negative emotions that hold you back.  Therapy can be really hard, because it forces you to confront things about yourself that can be painful.  But again, the reward for this can be a really great spark of enlightenment that truly improves you and your life.

Hopefully this gives you some idea.  If you've been thinking about this for very long, my advice is, go and do it.  And give it some time, it may take a while (several months) before it really starts working.  Until then your mind is in a "contemplation" stage where it is processing these new ideas and considering whether to adopt them.

Answer 2

That's like asking 'can a mechanic fix the transmission on my '73 Camero?'; the answer is yes, but the level of success is dependent on how qualified the professional is.

Each patient is different, so the methods used may vary from one person to another: some respond to behavioral modification, others may do better with psychoanalysis. There's a lot of models (types of psychology) out there. The important thing to remember is to find a therapist who you are comfortable with.

Answer 3

You can help herself, without the expensive bills.  Simply, believe you are somebody and you are special to yourself.  You are born a child of good just like me and everyone else.  If you are not an atheist, read your Bible.   The book of Proverbs is great.