The referral pathways guide
Read with intention
Meet the cliniciansSelf-esteem support, from the inside out.
When the harshest voice in the room is your own, everything costs more. Therapy helps you understand that voice and build a steadier, fairer sense of your worth. In Parramatta or online.
Low self-esteem is quieter than it looks.
It rarely announces itself. It hides inside over-apologising, over-working and holding back, and a running commentary that files every mistake as evidence. You don’t need to tick every box to reach out.
- Your inner voice says things you’d never say to a friend.
- Compliments bounce off; criticism sticks for days.
- You apologise for things that aren’t yours to carry.
- Saying no feels dangerous, so you keep saying yes.
- You hold back in meetings, in groups and in relationships, to stay safe.
- Achievements feel like luck, or like you’ve fooled everyone.
- Other people’s lives have become the measuring stick for yours.
- You work twice as hard to feel barely good enough.
None of this means something is wrong with you. It usually means you learned, somewhere along the way, that your worth had to be earned, and that learning can be updated. That’s what this work is for.
The critic isn’t honesty. It’s a habit.
Healthy self-esteem isn’t believing you’re wonderful. It’s relating to yourself fairly, with the same accuracy and respect you’d offer someone you value. Self-criticism keeps low self-worth going in a few predictable ways.
Harsh old rules
“I must never disappoint anyone.” “Less than perfect is failure.” Rules learned early run quietly in the background and set impossible passing marks.
The evidence filter
Wins get discounted as luck, a fluke or a low bar, while missteps are logged in detail. Over time, the file you keep on yourself becomes unfair.
Playing small
Avoiding risks protects you from failure in the short term, and quietly confirms the belief that you couldn’t have handled it anyway.
The comparison loop
Measuring your inside against everyone else’s outside. It’s a rigged contest, and it never delivers the reassurance it promises.
These loops are learned, and that is the good news: what’s learned can be examined, tested and revised with the right support.
Evidence-based. Not an empty pep talk.
Building self-esteem in therapy isn’t about affirmations in the mirror. It’s structured work on how you judge, treat and talk to yourself, drawing on approaches with sound evidence behind them.
CBT
Catching the self-critical commentary in real time, testing it against the evidence, and building fairer, more accurate ways of reading yourself.
Compassion-focused
For people whose self-talk is more attack than observation. It trains a steadier, warmer internal response, especially where shame runs deep.
Schema-informed
Looking at the older patterns underneath, where the “not good enough” story began, so change reaches the root, not just the surface.
Behavioural experiments
Small real-world tests, like saying no, being seen or letting a mistake stand, to discover what actually happens versus what the critic predicted.
Low self-esteem often travels with anxiety or low mood, and therapy can address them together. Your psychologist explains the reasoning behind each approach, and progress is reviewed against your goals rather than a fixed program.
Your first weeks, step by step.
No pressure to perform. We know that’s the point.
- 1
Mostly a conversation
What’s been happening, how you talk to yourself, and what you’d like to feel differently. You only share what you’re comfortable sharing, and together you’ll sketch a plan.
Session one - 2
Mapping the pattern
Where the critical voice came from, when it’s loudest, and what it costs you. Then the first practical skills for meeting it differently between sessions.
Sessions two to four - 3
Reviewing together
Progress is measured against your goals, such as steadier self-talk and braver choices, not anyone else’s timeline. How long you come, and when you pause, is always your call.
Ongoing
Know your costs before you start.
We confirm your fee and any rebate in writing before your first session. If a funding body covers you, we bill them directly wherever possible.
See fees- Medicare: rebates on up to 10 sessions a year with a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP.
- NDIS, DVA, Workers Comp & CTP: usually no out-of-pocket cost when approved.
- Private health: claim through your extras cover, with no referral needed.
Meet our clinicians.
Bülent Ada
Principal Psychologist & Director
Anxiety · Trauma
Taline Bardakjian
Consultant Psychologist
Anxiety · Sleep
Sijal Ansari
Clinical Psychologist
Trauma · PTSD
Michael L. T. Cheung
Consultant Psychologist
Stress · Couples
Shahim Ahmad
Clinical Psychologist
Stress · Anxiety
Irfan Yigit
Senior Consultant Psychologist
Anxiety · Depression
Annette Haggerty
Consultant Psychologist
Anxiety · Depression
More ways we can help.
Check in with yourself.
Free, private tools to try before or alongside sessions. They are not a diagnosis.
Free · 5 to 10 min
Take the Mind Health Check
Short questionnaires, scored privately in your browser. We have ticked the ones most related to this page, and you can change them.
Fact sheet: Building self-esteem
A plain-language guide with practical steps. Free to download.
Try this week
- Each evening, write down three things you did well.
- Speak to yourself as you would to a good friend.
- Notice comparisons with others, and come back to your own path.
Need help now? Our urgent help page has who to call, day and night.
Things people ask before booking.
Is low self-esteem a mental health condition?
How is this different from just thinking positively?
What approaches will my psychologist use?
How long does it take to build self-esteem?
Do I need a referral to book?
Can I do sessions by telehealth?
Can I get Medicare rebates for self-esteem work?
Is low self-esteem linked to anxiety or depression?
You’ve heard the critic. Time for a fairer voice.
Tell us what’s going on and we’ll match you with a psychologist who works with self-esteem and self-criticism, usually after a free triage. No referral needed to begin.
Talk to us
How can we help?
Fees & rebatesFind a psychologistMind Health CheckReferring a clientWorkplaces & EAP
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Follow the circle. Breathe in as it grows, out as it settles. Nothing else to do.
That calm you just found is always within reach. When you'd like someone alongside you, we're here.