Thoughts
- I am not good enough
- Others are better or stronger than me
- I am not allowed to make mistakes
- If people really knew me, they would reject me
- My performance determines my worth
Do you often feel you are not good enough, constantly doubt yourself or depend heavily on what others think of you? A negative self-image can affect almost every area of your life.
With Nadia El Amrani, psychologist, we explore how your view of yourself developed and what keeps negative beliefs about yourself alive. You learn to evaluate yourself in a more realistic, gentle and balanced way.
Your self-image consists of the beliefs, thoughts and expectations you have about yourself. When these are mainly negative, they can create a lot of insecurity and tension.
Your self-image is the total of ideas and beliefs you hold about yourself. It concerns, for example, how competent, attractive, valuable, strong or lovable you find yourself. Everyone doubts themselves sometimes, but with a negative self-image your shortcomings and mistakes take center stage.
Positive qualities, successes or compliments are often downplayed. You may think something was luck, that others are only being nice or that a compliment is not sincere. At the same time, a single mistake can be seen as proof that you are indeed not good enough.
A negative self-image can make you constantly compare yourself to others, avoid certain situations, become perfectionistic or seek a lot of validation. Your sense of worth then becomes strongly dependent on performance and the opinions of others.
Negative beliefs about yourself are often repeated for years, which makes them feel familiar and true. During treatment you learn to examine these beliefs and make room for a more realistic and complete picture of yourself.
A negative self-image can show up in your thoughts, behavior and the way you handle relationships, performance and setbacks.
A negative self-image usually does not arise from a single event, but develops gradually. Childhood experiences, upbringing, relationships, school, work and impactful events can all influence how you came to see yourself.
When you received little appreciation, a lot of criticism or felt love depended on performance, you may develop the belief that you are never good enough.
Negative experiences with peers, exclusion or prolonged criticism can have a lasting impact on your self-confidence.
When you only feel valuable if you perform perfectly, a constant pressure arises to have to be better.
By constantly comparing yourself to others, it can seem as if everyone is more successful, smarter or more attractive than you.
A separation, loss, illness, trauma or prolonged stress can cause you to think increasingly negatively about yourself.
Thoughts such as "I am not good enough", "I do not belong" or "I disappoint others" can over time develop into persistent beliefs.
The goal of treatment is not to find yourself perfect, but to learn to look at yourself in a more balanced and gentle way.
During treatment we explore which beliefs you have developed about yourself and where they come from. Often these beliefs have been present for years and quietly influence your choices, relationships and emotions.
Depending on your request, we use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), schema therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). These methods help you recognize negative thought patterns, examine them critically and gradually replace them with more realistic beliefs.
We also pay attention to increasing self-compassion, learning to receive compliments, setting boundaries and developing a sense of self-worth that is less dependent on performance or the opinion of others.
You discover which beliefs you have developed about yourself and how they influence your daily life.
Together we investigate whether these thoughts really match reality or are based on old experiences.
Through exercises and behavioral experiments you experience that old beliefs do not always match reality.
You learn to approach yourself with more understanding and gentleness, and to trust your qualities more.
You learn to recognize signs of self-criticism earlier and develop skills to deal with them in a healthy way.
A negative self-image is often built up over many years and usually does not change by simply thinking more positively. That is why we look not only at your current symptoms, but also at the patterns and experiences that contributed to them.
Broad experience in treating self-image problems, perfectionism, anxiety, depression and trauma-related complaints.
Treatment with CBT, ACT, schema therapy and EMDR when relevant.
Consultations available in French, English and Moroccan Arabic (Darija).
With attention to your personal background, norms, values, identity and life story.
Amsterdam and online
FR · EN · AR · Darija
CBT · EMDR · ACT
Personal and goal-oriented
When you have doubted yourself for years or feel you are never enough, treatment can help you look at yourself again with more confidence, calm and gentleness.
Book a consultation