Self-esteem within cognitive behavioural coaching: a theoretical framework to integrate theory with practice

The usefulness of the cognitive behavioural model in dealing with low self-esteem has been documented in many studies. Research suggests that individuals gather information about themselves by engaging in self-evaluation processes, which in turn are significantly related to global feeling of self-worth. Domains or attributes that individuals evaluate themselves on and find as more personally important have a more profound impact on global self-esteem than less important ones. Using a cognitive behavioural framework, the present paper discusses the variety of self-evaluation processes that individuals engage in and the importance attached to the evaluated domains in regulating global self-esteem. The paper links theory with practice by identifying specific strategies and tools for use in coaching in order to help a coachee to identify, examine, challenge and modify unhelpful self-evaluative thinking with balanced and relative thinking.