{"id":23764,"date":"2026-07-14T03:09:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unk.com\/blog\/?p=23764"},"modified":"2026-07-14T03:56:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:56:39","slug":"when-is-self-doubt-therapeutic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unk.com\/blog\/when-is-self-doubt-therapeutic\/","title":{"rendered":"When Is Self-Doubt Therapeutic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Enlightenment is always preceded by confusion.”<\/em><\/p>\n

– Dr Milton Erickson<\/p>\n

In the 1990s I was talking to a group of a hundred or so therapists, and one of them asked me how we can help those with low self-esteem<\/a> become more<\/em> sure of themselves.<\/p>\n

I was struck by a powerful idea.<\/p>\n

“Our job,” I said, “is to make these clients less<\/em> sure of themselves.”<\/p>\n

There was a wave of furrowed brows in the front row. (What is<\/em> a collective term for therapists? A ‘nod’ of therapists? A ‘validation’ of counsellors?) But some of them, of course, got it straight away.<\/p>\n

After all, it wasn’t a startling or original idea. Kind of obvious when you think about it.<\/p>\n

But back then the idea that people had to go around being sure of themselves was indelibly linked to self-esteem. And yet, to understand healthy<\/em> self-esteem, as opposed to the preening self-love of narcissism<\/a>, we need to understand the role of therapeutic self-doubt.<\/p>\n

Prefer to watch instead?<\/h3>\n