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

220 SELF-ESTEEM RESEARCH, THEORY, AND PRACTICEappointments, the program could be broken up into 10 steps instead of 5without much logistical difficulty. For example, the steps are 2 hours longand already have a break or transition built into them, which could beused to mark the point where they would be divided into two 1-hour sessions.In short, one way of adapting the program to individual work is bymaking its steps the basis of a short-term therapeutic contract, the primaryfocus of which is to work on enhancing self-esteem. Indeed, I havebeen investigating this approach and offer the format that is used forsuch work in the part of the Appendix labeled “Supplement I” for examination.It is possible to expand the number of sessions in various phasessuch as increasing worthiness or increasing competence. However, doingso turns the program into longer-term work, which is beyond the researchscope of the individual program as it has been developed so far. Ofcourse, it is important to note that no supporting evidence is being offeredhere for or against the individual format at this time.Just as there are some advantages to working in the group format, theindividual setting offers its own unique opportunities. For one thing, itallows us to focus more directly on the client as a unique and special person,which, among other things, allows us to take better advantage of assessment.For example, in this setting we are free to use the MSEI to explore allthe domains of self-esteem it evaluates, rather than just identifying the areaswith the highest and lowest scores. Such work is likely to increase awarenessof self-esteem in general, but it also allows us to develop a much betterunderstanding of how the components and dimensions of self-esteem arealive in a particular person’s life. Thus, in addition to exploring eachdomain, this approach also allows us to look for, and to identify, self-esteemthemes that are especially important for the person in his or her life.Also, individual work is better positioned to use naturally occurringself-esteem moments, especially those involving problematic self-esteemthemes. After all, the longer a client is in treatment, the more such opportunitiesare likely to arise. This aspect of individual work can be beneficialfor two reasons. First, we know that the positive resolution of suchself-esteem challenges can genuinely modify underlying problematic selfesteemthemes in a positive direction. Indeed, we saw work that supportsthe idea that this format could be a more direct route to enhancing selfesteemin Chapters 3 and 5. Second, as Bednar and colleagues (1989,1995) pointed out, individual therapy adds new elements to the situationthat make a meaningful difference in their outcomes. For example, theclient does not have to face the challenges of living alone in this therapeuticarrangement. Here, the therapist helps to increase the client’sawareness of what is really at stake: dealing with a challenge that involvessignificant biographic themes and the potential to be a self-esteem turningpoint. Indeed, the clinician even helps the person to navigate these situations