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COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING TECHNIQUE FOR

LOW SELF ESTEEM

Report on the project

in Counselling Psychology
undertaken by

Mrunal Tulaskar
TYBA Psychology (2020-21)
Roll no: 59

Teacher-in-charge,
Dr. Pooja Soni
Department of Psychology
K. C. College
Mumbai- 400020

December 2020
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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project entitled “Cognitive Restructuring Technique for
low self-esteem” which is submitted by me for the Counselling Psychology
project to the University of Mumbai, has been done under the guidance of Dr.
Pooja Soni. The work done is entirely my own, and wherever external resources
have been used, credit has been given in the bibliography.

Signature of the Guide Signature of the Candidate

Dr. Pooja Soni Mrunal Tulaskar
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the University of Mumbai for giving me the opportunity to
do a project in Counselling Psychology. I would also like to thank the Principal
of K.C. College, Dr. Hemlata Bagla for her motivation and guidance.

I extend my sincere gratitude to Ms. Veena Kumar, the Head of Department of

Psychology, K.C. College for her constant encouragement.

I would like to express my gratitude to my Professor, Dr. Pooja Soni for her
guidance, support and suggestions that have helped me to complete my project.

Finally, I thank my parents and friends who have supported me throughout the
project completion in various ways.
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INDEX

Sr. No. Title of Content Page No.

i Declaration i

ii Acknowledgement ii

1 Introduction 1

2 Review of Literature 2

3 Conclusion 8

4 References 10
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Humans have the capacity to define themselves and form an identity and add
value to it. This value determines what we often refer to as “Self-esteem”.
According to Morris Rosenberg (1965), self-esteem is a positive or negative
attitude towards oneself and one’s evaluation of own thoughts and feelings
overall in relation to oneself. A high self esteem can help you accomplish your
goals whereas a low self-esteem may hold you back from succeeding (Cherry,
2019). We damage ourselves by rejecting parts of our self and thereby, limiting
our ability. And this often affects an individual’s daily functioning (McKay and
Fanning, 2016). Low self-esteem is one of the major growing concerns in
today’s world and DSM-5 associates it with 21 different disorders as either
diagnostic or associative feature, risk factor or consequence (APA, 2013).
Boosting low self-esteem can accelerate the recovery rate and prevent such
disorders. Our cognitions play an important role in determining our self-esteem.
Therefore, change must occur at a cognitive level in order to boost it. Fennell’s
cognitive behavioral model of low self-esteem is instrumental in explaining this
concept (Fennell, 1997). Cognitive restructuring technique largely focuses on
identifying and modifying various forms of cognitive distortions and irrational
beliefs. (Ellis, 2003). And thus, it can be effective in boosting low self-esteem.
However, low self-esteem is often given a secondary importance. Also, very
limited studies focus on using cognitive restructuring for low self-esteem.
Therefore, this research paper attempts to understand and encourage the use of
cognitive restructuring technique to boost low self-esteem.
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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

 Low self-esteem
According to Burns (1982), people’s evaluations and beliefs about
themselves determine who they are, what they can do and what they can
accomplish. Low self-esteem often refers to an individual’s negative
perception about self. Our perceived self often determines the relationship
and interaction we have with ourselves as well as with others. Low self-
esteem is often characterized by self-criticism, exaggeration of mistakes,
pessimism, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of failure, lack of
confidence and many other feelings that lead to a negative perception of
self (Cherry, 2019).

 Fennell’s Cognitive Behavioral model of low self-esteem

Fennell’s cognitive behavioral model of low self-esteem is highly
influenced by Aaron Beck’s cognitive model of emotional disorder which
suggests that people form conclusions about themselves as well as about
other people and the world. These conclusions are highly based on their
experiences. If the experiences are negative, the conclusions also tend to
be negative (Beck,1976). According to Fennell (1997), people form a
general belief or image of themselves that is based on various life
experiences which is referred to as the “bottom line’’. If the bottom line is
negative, the individual then develops rules for living which are personal
standards that should be met (for e.g., “I must do this’’, “I should do
this”). They emphasize certain obligations and compulsions in order to
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feel better about themselves and avoid the negative bottom line. People
often come across trigger situations, known as “critical incidents” which
compel people to break rules. And when these rules are broken or unmet,
they activate the bottom line. Due to such activation, people tend to have
negative predictions about themselves and situations. In order to prove
these predictions wrong, people often adopt various unhelpful coping
strategies. However, instead of proving the predictions wrong, those
strategies confirm the bottom line and forces people to indulge into self-
critical thinking. As a result of this criticism, people tend to have “biased
perception” and “biased interpretation”. Biased perception occurs when
people accept information that is consistent with their existing negative
beliefs about self and the one that is inconsistent is ignored. Biased
interpretation refers to distortion of information in order to fit the existing
belief. Such biased perceptions and interpretations contribute in
maintaining the low self-esteem (Newman, n.d).

 Self-esteem and the Pathological Critic

The term “Pathological Critic” is coined by the psychologist Eugene
Sagan. It is the negative inner voice that attacks and judge people. All of
us have a healthy inner voice and a critical inner voice. However, the
pathological critic of people having low self-esteem is much more evident
than others. This critic is born during the early experiences of
socialization. It is often involved in undermining people’s self-worth,
emphasizing on their failure and constantly exaggerates their weaknesses.
The rules of living are the weapons of this critic. This critic helps people
with low self-esteem to cope with the feelings of anxiety, helplessness,
rejection, etc. In other words, it attempts to protect people but at the same
time undermines their self-worth. In short, this pathological critic is the
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self-critical talk or thinking that emerges after the confirmation of bottom

line (McKay and Fanning, 2016).

 Cognitive Restructuring Technique

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapeutic intervention that
focuses on challenging and modifying cognitive distortions and
behaviors. It combines the cognitive as well as the behavioral aspect of an
individual’s life and the concerning problem. Cognitive restructuring
technique, founded by Albert Ellis (2003) is a major technique of CBT.
According to Ellis, when people’s goals are obstructed by unfavorable
conditions, people either react in a rational (self-helping) or irrational
(self-defeating) way. Therefore, this technique places special emphasis on
changing a person’s perception and irrational assumptions of self and the
world. This paper has outlined some basic principles of Cognitive
restructuring technique based on various existing studies.

Principles of Cognitive Restructuring Technique:

 Individuals are goal oriented and capable of taking responsibility
for their own decisions, actions and excise control over their
behavior.
 They are not disturbed by the events that happen to them but by the
view and perception of those events. People can change the way
they feel by changing the way they think about self, others or about
a particular event or situation. In other words, it means
restructuring the cognition.
 Cognitive restructuring technique assumes that people’s beliefs
(B) about a particular event or adversity (A) generate the
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consequences (C) of that event which includes the behavioral as

well as the emotional response. (A X B= C)
 A collaborative alliance between the therapist and the client and an
active participation from both sides determines the progress of this
technique.
 Cognitive restructuring technique emphasizes on the present.

 Using Cognitive Restructuring Technique to boost low self-esteem

Self-esteem is also defined as the global barometer of self-evaluation
involving cognitive appraisals about self-worth and affective experiences
of the self that are linked to these global appraisals (Murphy, et.al, 2005).
This definition underscores the importance of cognition in determining
our self-esteem. Our cognitions contribute to low self-esteem at three
levels: core beliefs about self (bottom line), conditional dysfunctional
assumptions (rules for living) and the negative automatic thoughts (self-
criticism) which maintains the low self-esteem (Fennell, 1998).
Therefore, change must occur at a cognitive level.

The ABC model is the key element of cognitive restructuring technique.

It is essential for the client to be aware that their beliefs about a particular
event or adversity determines the consequences of that event (Ellis,
2003). Once the client becomes aware about the ABC model, he/she can
bring awareness about his/her thoughts. Awareness about one’s thoughts
can help the client to distinguish between rational and irrational thoughts
by identifying the core beliefs about self and cognitive distortions such as
“I am worthless”, “I can’t do anything”, etc. Those negative thoughts
form the negative bottom line of an individual (Fennell, 1998). The next
step involved in this technique is to retrospect upon the critical incidents
that activate the bottom line. In other words, the client has to examine
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his/her experiences in which their self-worth gets depreciated. This

realization helps the client to monitor their negative thoughts and
understand what triggers them (McManus, et.al, 2009).

The pathological critic plays a significant role in maintaining the low

self-esteem. Hence, it is important to disarm it. This can be done by
personifying the pathological critic (McKay and Fanning, 2016). As
people say, it is easier to battle with something that is outside,
personifying the pathological critic can help to externalize this inner self-
critical voice. It is also important to identify the healthy inner voice
because it gives the ability to think realistically. The client should be
encouraged to engage in a dialogue or debate between the pathological
critic and the healthy voice (McKay and Fanning,2016). Through this
dialogue or debate, the client can question and evaluate their negative
automatic thoughts (McManus, et.al, 2009). Evaluation can take place
through a cost-benefit analysis where the client examines the usefulness
and harmfulness of particular thought and the rules for living
(O’Donohue W, et.al, 2003). All those processes are what we refer to as
“disputation of thoughts”. Disputation can take form by asking for
empirical disputation, logical questioning and pragmatic questioning
(Ellis, 2003). Empirical disputation occurs when an evidence is needed
for an empirical question (for e.g., where is the evidence that everyone
must like me? The answer for this would be, “There is no evidence that I
must be liked by all. If I can choose for myself, then even others can
choose for themselves”). Logical disputation is beneficial when the client
determines his/her self-worth by achieving externally validated high
standards. It enables the client to question a particular thought and answer
it logically (for e.g., “Is it necessary that people must like me only if I do
a particular thing?” A logical answer for this would be that it is not
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necessary). Through pragmatic questioning, the client can determine the

consequences of clinging on to a particular thought (for e.g., “Where will
it take me if I keep demanding to be liked by everyone?”). Such
disputations help the client to test the validity of the negative automatic
thoughts. Various studies reveal that effective evaluation of one’s
negative automatic thoughts has improved the emotional state and
behavior of an individual (Khadri M, et.al, 2018)

Once the disputation takes place, the client is then encouraged to

introspect about his/her genuine strengths. Awareness about one’s
strength helps the client to discover various alternatives to deal with the
pathological critic and the demanding dysfunctional assumptions about
self (Fennell, 1998). This step involves modifying unhealthy coping
strategies into healthy and rational behavior. This can be done by
reinforcing and nourishing the healthy voice, rehearsing rational coping
statements, listing and tracking positive qualities, encouraging realistic
self-acceptance and engaging in productive activities. However,
repetition of those activities is very essentially in order to be able to
regulate and modify one’s thoughts and beliefs (Emmanuel, et.al, 2015).
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CHAPTER 3: CONCLUSION

Cognitive restructuring technique has proven to be an effective intervention

while dealing with major psychological disorders such as anxiety and
depression. However, various other disorders also exist that operate at a mild
level but can be problematic if not intervened. Low self-esteem is a factor of
immense importance in many such disorders. A vicious cycle emerges between
low self-esteem and various psychological disorders. Cognitive restructuring
technique helps people to become aware of their thoughts, distinguish between
rational and irrational thoughts, identify, evaluate and modify the negative
automatic thoughts that contribute to low self-esteem. As people get involved
deeper and deeper into this technique, they gradually take more responsibility
for change. They recognize themselves as the agent of change. It gives them the
power to direct their lives and have a sense of control over their life. However,
research on this topic is very limited because low self-esteem is often treated as
a secondary measure in many disorders. But if efforts are taken towards
boosting low self-esteem, it can accelerate the recovery rate of many disorders.
Therefore, emphasis should be placed upon boosting low self-esteem. Another
limitation is that the cultural factors are neglected in many studies. Culture also
determines an individual’s self esteem and the extent to which he/she is willing
to boost it which thereby determines the progress of the technique.
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Even in day-to-day life, people should be made aware of the concept of self-
esteem especially children and adolescents because major experiences during
those stages have a large impact on self-esteem. People should be taught to
identify their inner critical voice and dispute the irrational thoughts so that they
have a sense of control over their lives. This can help them to be a responsible,
goal-directed and productive individual. Various seminars, debates, discussions
can be organized to stress the importance of self-esteem. People with suicidal
tendencies tend to have low self-esteem. Therefore, boosting low self-esteem
can decrease the suicidal rate. As we are aware that childhood experiences play
a signification role in shaping our perception, there is a strong need for parents
to be made aware of this concept so that they can regulate their own as well as
their children’s behavior. Efforts should also be taken at school and college
level. This can be done under the broad category of personality development.
Hence, the use of cognitive restructuring technique to boost low self-esteem
should be encouraged.
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REFERENCES

Beck, A (1976). Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders, International

Universities Press.

Burns, R (1982). Self-concept: Development and Education, London, England.

Cherry, K (2019). What is Self-esteem? Very well mind

(www.verywellmind.com)

DSM-5 (2013). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, American Psychiatric

Association, 5th edition.

Ellis, A (2003). Cognitive restructuring of the disputing of irrational beliefs.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Applying empirically supported techniques
in your practice, Wiley Publications, Hoboken, New Jersey.

Emmanuel O, Okereke C, Anayochi N, (2015). Assertiveness training and

cognitive restructuring technique on self-esteem of female undergraduate
victims of relationship violence in South-west Nigeria, European Journal
of Educational and Developmental Psychology, Vol.3, No.2, pg.no. 15-
29, European Centre for research training and development.
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Fennell, M (1997). Low self-esteem: A cognitive perspective. Behavioral and

Cognitive Psychotherapy.

Fennell, M (1998). Cognitive therapy in the treatment of low self-esteem.

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 296-304.

Khadri, M.A, Ahmed, N.S (2018). Application of Cognitive Restructuring

Technique on female adolescents with low self-esteem. The Turkish
Online Journal of Design, Art and Communication.

McKay, M, Fanning, P (2016). Self-esteem: A proven program of cognitive

techniques for assessing, improving and maintaining your self-esteem, 4th
edition, New Harbinger Publications, Oakland.

McManus, F, Waite, P, Shafran, R (2009). Cognitive and Behavioral Practice,

Volume 16, Issue 3, Elsevier Publications.

Murphy, C, Stosny, S and Morrel, T (2005). Change in self-esteem and physical

aggression during treatment for partner violent men, Journal of Family
violence, 20, 201-210.

O’Donohue, W, Fisher, J, Hayes, S (2003). Newman, C, Cognitive

Restructuring: Identifying and modifying maladaptive schemas.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Applying empirically supported techniques
in your practice, Wiley Publications, Hoboken, New Jersey.

Rosenberg, M (1965). Society and the Adolescent self-image, Princeton, NJ:

Princeton University Press.