Self-Esteem Research, Theory, and Practice Toward a Positive ...

As an aside, I have found that it helps to make sure that the roombeing used is reserved about at least 2.5 hours to avoid any time crunches,especially for those who read or take tests slowly. Allowing people totake a little longer to fill out the form prevents them from feeling rushed:If someone else is trying to access the room, the situation may becomeawkward. It is important to have the testing done the first week becauseit stimulates participants’ curiosity about themselves and encouragesthem to come back, if only to find out their results! We do a lot of workin this session, but people also tend to be highly motivated at this pointand usually manage to complete the meeting without difficulty.Week 2: Awareness Phase (Appreciating Self-Esteem)GoalThe second week continues the process of increasing awareness as a firststep toward enhancing self-esteem. The goal is to raise consciousnessconcerning the nature of self-esteem, its value, and the sources of thisvital psychosocial resource. Our objectives in this work include becomingaware of the basic types and levels of self-esteem, appreciating theirrelated problems, and identifying individual self-esteem strengths andweaknesses.Materials1. Week 2—Handout 1: Self-Esteem Types, Levels, and Problems.This handout is used as a general introduction to the self-esteemmeaning matrix (or cross of self-esteem, depending on whichmetaphor is more suitable for a particular group). It is designedto introduce how problems with competence and worthinessaffect self-esteem.2. Week 2—Handout 2: Applying the Multidimensional Self-EsteemInventory Scales. This handout is designed to help participantsmake sense of their scores on the MSEI, especially as the scoresapply to the program.3. Week 2—Handout 3: Finding Sources of Self-Esteem. Thisworksheet is based on the research findings concerning the fourmajor sources of self-esteem. It is set up to help people get intouch with how the sources are potentially available to them.ProcedureA Two-Factor Self-Esteem Enhancement Program 197Step 1: Review. I usually begin this session by creating an opportunityfor group members to share experiences and reflections from their