Starting self‑esteem counselling is similar to driving. Like taking your car into the garage to determine where the oil leak stems from, we spend time exploring where your negative self‑talk originates. While at the garage, the mechanic may find another issue that needs attention. Similarly, in therapy, we may explore your self‑doubt, perfectionism, people‑pleasing tendencies, and the pressure you feel to meet others’ expectations, especially common experiences for high‑achieving women. I sit next to you in the passenger seat, ensuring you feel safe, heard, validated, and supported as you drive. I offer strategies and tools designed to help you build self‑esteem, self‑worth, and healthier internal dialogue. You can pull over, slow down, or change lanes at any time. As you gain insight and understanding, you begin creating new experiences and awareness. Driving home after your counselling session, you may notice kinder self‑talk and moments where you feel more grounded and confident.
My name is Leena Mehta, and I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor in Burnaby (#19428). I’ve supported individuals for several years, including high‑achieving women, professionals, caregivers, and women experiencing burnout or high‑functioning anxiety. Across all these groups, one theme is consistent: negative core beliefs that quietly shape how you see yourself. You were not born with low self‑esteem, these beliefs were learned, and together we can unlearn them. Changing these negative beliefs is not easy, but you don’t have to do it alone. Let me help.
As a Burnaby therapist supporting high‑achieving women, I work with you to explore your self‑talk, insecurities, and relationship with yourself in a safe, non‑judgmental, and confidential space. You were born worthy. You may be busy trying to meet other people’s expectations and describe yourself as a people pleaser. I focus on your strengths and work to reduce your self-doubt.
Tired of giving yourself a hard time? You are not a failure. What if I told you that your self-talk could be kinder, more patient, and more understanding, rather than harsh and critical? Let’s work together and change your self-talk.
Many high‑achieving women appear confident, capable, and composed on the outside while quietly struggling with:
Whether you’re a professional, student, caregiver, or community leader, you may feel like your self‑esteem is tied to your achievements. Counselling for high‑achieving women offers a space where you don’t have to perform or hold everything together.
At Ease Counselling in Burnaby, I work with you to help you achieve your goals and improve your mental health. Reaching out for support is a sign of strength. Believe me, I know it is not easy, but I’m here to support you every step of the way if you let me.
For many high achieving women, self‑esteem becomes intertwined with performance, productivity, and meeting high expectations, both internal and external. You may appear confident, organized, and capable to others, yet privately struggle with self‑doubt, harsh self‑criticism, or the fear of not doing enough. This is incredibly common among women who carry multiple roles, responsibilities, and pressures.
Self‑esteem for high‑achieving women is shaped by a combination of early experiences, cultural expectations, family roles, and the belief that worth must be earned through achievement. You may have learned to be the responsible one, the strong one, or the one who “has it all together.” Over time, this can create a pattern where your value feels tied to how much you accomplish rather than who you are.
In therapy for high‑achieving women, we explore how these patterns developed and how they show up in your daily life. Many clients share experiences such as:
These experiences don’t mean you’re failing — they mean you’ve been carrying too much for too long.
At Ease Counselling in Burnaby provides a safe space to share your experiences. You can share it all at once or gradually. You can email me or bring in notes if that’s easier. There is no one way or right way to do therapy. What’s most important for me, as your counsellor, is that you feel comfortable and you do what feels right for you.
There is nothing ‘wrong’ with you. You are not broken, and I’m not here to fix you. As your counsellor in Burnaby, I’m curious to learn about your triggers and your negative core beliefs.
You are good enough regardless of your profession, education, relationship status or achievements. You are good enough. Let’s work together to strengthen this.
Low self‑esteem can show up as:
High‑achieving women often share experiences such as:
As your Burnaby BIPOC counsellor, I ensure you feel seen, heard, validated, and accepted. Starting your healing journey takes courage, and I am here to support you every step of the way. You are not alone. Let’s talk.
Burnaby self-esteem counselling provides a non-judgmental, kind, and compassionate space to help you build your self-esteem. Together, we focus on your needs, which may include the following:
Self-esteem counselling can support you in:
I need your help in determining which counselling modality is best for you. It’s okay if you don’t know. As your counsellor in Burnaby, I use a variety of different counselling modalities to support clients with self-esteem. Every client is different, and as a counsellor, I support each client with where they are in their healing journey. Counselling modalities that can help include:
ACT can help women accept their thoughts and feelings without trying to change them. It can also help women change their behaviour so that it aligns more closely with their values. For example, saying no to others and prioritising their needs and goals.
CBT can help women identify and challenge negative core beliefs and thought patterns. For example, I’m not good enough, my needs don’t matter, and I’m unimportant.
DBT can help women with emotional regulation and distress tolerance by learning skills and strategies to help them cope. For example, noticing signs of low self-worth and self-esteem in the body and learning how to manage these feelings.
Starting counselling may feel scary, but you can start working on yourself by reading one of the following books:
Shianna Ali, The Self-Love Workbook
Nathaniel Branden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
David Burns, Ten Days to Self-Esteem
Mark Goulston and Philip Goldberg, Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behaviour
Barbara Markway and Celia Ampel, The Self-Confidence Workbook
Matthew McKay, Self-Esteem: A Proven Program of Cognitive Techniques for Assessing, Improving and Maintaining Your Self-Esteem
Glenn Schiraldi, The Self-Esteem Workbook
https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/looking-after-yourself/self-esteem
https://positivepsychology.com/self-esteem-tools-activities/
https://www.therapistaid.com/therapy-worksheets/self-esteem/none
Burnaby self-esteem counselling focuses on the connection between your thoughts and negative core beliefs. Your thoughts are not facts, and we can change them. For example, when your negative thoughts surface, you may believe you are not worthy or deserving. These negative core beliefs are not true, and we can work together to change them. Some women struggle with a negative, harsh inner dialogue, which may stem from criticism they received when they were younger. As a Burnaby therapist, I work with women to help them strengthen their positive self-talk. Some of our work together also focuses on increasing self-kindness, self-compassion and self-love. Self-love may include treating yourself with the same kindness you show your best friend, prioritising your needs, making space for uncomfortable feelings and showing up for yourself because you are worthy.
Burnaby self-esteem counselling explores how your negative thoughts and core beliefs impact your life. For example, some women feel frustrated with themselves when they make a mistake, and they give themselves a hard time. Other women share how they doubt their abilities, and they rely on others for validation and reassurance. As a counsellor in Burnaby, I remain curious to learn more about my clients’ experiences and how their lives would be different if they didn’t struggle with negative thoughts and core beliefs. We also explore the origins of negative thoughts and beliefs. For some women, this stems from their childhood. In some cases, women grew up with a critical parent or caregiver, while others grew up with a critical teacher, coach, or boss. In counselling, we explore coping mechanisms, and I share techniques to help you build your self-esteem.
Burnaby self-esteem counselling helps you heal from experiences that resulted in low self-esteem. Some of your self-doubt, low self-esteem and negative core beliefs may stem from your childhood or upbringing. As a Burnaby therapist, I work with you to strengthen positive beliefs, reduce self-doubt, build self-esteem and heal your inner child. Some of our work together involves focusing on strengths and achievements. Women who struggle with low self-esteem sometimes focus on their mistakes or feel like they are not good enough. They are not able to focus on achievements or accomplishments. These are sometimes minimised or not recognised. I also support women who struggle with feeling like an imposter at work. We work together to reduce these feelings and build their self-esteem.
For some women, their low self-esteem is due to the abuse or trauma they experienced growing up. For others, it is due to the criticism they experienced from their parents or others, or because of bullying. At Ease Counselling in Burnaby also supports women who experience low self-esteem due to poor academic performance in school, college or at work. Finally, there are other factors, such as social or cultural pressure, that may result in women experiencing low self-esteem. What if I told you that I support many clients in building their self-esteem?
Yes, excessive time spent on social media is detrimental to individuals, especially those who compare themselves to others. Some clients see posts on social media from individuals and feel less than, inadequate or like a failure. As a Burnaby therapist, I work with clients to help them recognise how they feel before they go on social media, as for some, social media can be a distraction. I also spend time understanding how clients feel after they’ve spent time on social media. Many share that they feel worse, and others disclose doom scrolling. What if you spent the same amount of time in counselling as you did on social media?
There are small steps that women can take to build their self-esteem, and here are a few to try. Firstly, by becoming curious about their thoughts. Some women struggle with negative thoughts and negative inner dialogue. They can challenge this and unpack where this stems from in counselling. Secondly, acknowledge things that are going well. For example, as a Burnaby therapist, I support clients in focusing on their strengths and achievements. Thirdly, identifying needs and implementing boundaries. Finally, acceptance and forgiveness for past mistakes or regrets. What if I told you that you can do hard things?
No, self-esteem is connected to your sense of self-worth, while self-confidence is tied to an individual’s ability to do well at a task. Low self-esteem may result in women feeling bad about themselves, worthless or unlovable. Low self-confidence may lead women to avoid tasks or activities they believe they are not skilled at. At Ease Counselling in Burnaby supports women in building and strengthening their self-esteem and self-confidence.
This depends on the individual and their unique experiences. Clients who were criticised for years may have internalised this criticism and, as a result, have a negative, harsh inner dialogue. As a Burnaby therapist, I support these individuals by strengthening their positive inner dialogue, self-kindness and self-esteem. Clients who were criticised for shorter periods and received support from caregivers or loved ones may have low self-esteem, but they may not struggle with a negative inner dialogue in the same way. What if you started to show kindness and compassion to your negative self-talk?
My work with high‑achieving women is grounded in a client‑led approach, which means therapy moves at your pace, honours your lived experience, and centres your voice. Many high‑achieving women are used to being in control, meeting expectations, and pushing through without asking for help. In counselling, you don’t have to perform or hold everything together. You get to decide what feels important, what feels safe, and what you’re ready to explore.
As a Burnaby therapist supporting high‑achieving women, I use evidence‑based modalities that help you understand your self‑esteem, reduce self‑doubt, and build a healthier relationship with yourself. Many high‑achieving women carry perfectionism, people‑pleasing, and the pressure to perform at all times. These patterns often develop early and become automatic. Evidence‑based therapy helps you slow down, understand these patterns, and create meaningful change.
My work with high‑achieving women is rooted in an anti‑oppressive, culturally responsive practice. Many high‑achieving women carry expectations shaped by culture, family roles, gender norms, workplace pressures, and systemic barriers. These forces often influence self‑esteem long before you realize it. Anti‑oppressive practice acknowledges that your struggles with self‑worth do not exist in a vacuum, they are shaped by the environments you’ve had to navigate and the identities you hold.
