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

208 SELF-ESTEEM RESEARCH, THEORY, AND PRACTICEhave been learned over the course of a lifetime and that it is difficult tounlearn them quickly. The authors of these techniques have had their workconfirmed by independent research, and each of them stresses the importanceof the work of writing things down and going through all the stepson paper. These habits of meaning making are so well practiced andingrained that it takes something like writing to slow down cognitive andperceptual patterns enough to identify, let alone disrupt, them. Changingsuch habits of mind requires even more work, which is why the process hasto be repeated many times before progress occurs. Being methodical alsohelps reinforce the importance of thinking more realistically.To be sure the participants get the point and to ensure that theyknow how to use the program, I turn to part C. Here, I ask a participantto allow me to help him or her work through the system in front of thegroup using a recent experience that affected self-esteem. This part of thesession is always done after obtaining permission from an individual. Allthe work is shown on the board, in front of the group, and in an acceptingfashion. After one or two times, the group typically becomes relaxed.People begin to volunteer to have their experience processed and eventuallyI have the group tell me what to put on the board as we go througheach of the steps. This part of the process is crucial to the program’s successand can be fun. Finally, the last step of the activity involves a homeworkassignment, which is to continue to practice the technique andrecord results in the journal. Of course, it is possible for a clinician to usea similar cognitive restructuring technique, providing it can be workedinto the same time frame.Week 4: Enhancing Phase (Increasing Competence)GoalThe fourth week continues the enhancement phase of the program, but thefocus shifts from working on worthiness to developing competence. Thisphase may be lengthened to include more activities than I have includedhere. If, for instance, we were working in a long-term group situation, thenwe could focus on learning to stand up for ourselves through assertivenesstraining. However, learning such sophisticated skills usually takes severalweeks (Rakos, 1990). Therefore, the fourth session aims to round out theenhancement phase by increasing competence in other ways.MaterialsThese materials are designed to aid the group’s work on skills and abilitiesand not just making group members feel good about themselves; thelatter is the major criticism of the anti–self-esteem movement mentioned