Understanding Self-Worth: A Guide to Worth-Conscious Theory and Psychotherapeutic Practice

by Dawna Daigneault, Chris Brown

Overview

Understanding Self-Worth: A Guide to Worth-Conscious Theory and Psychotherapeutic Practice is a guide for psychotherapists confounded by the struggle of working with clients who present with a pervasive pattern of denied self-worth.

When self-worth is perceived as conditional or denied altogether, clients may become complicit in creating a lost-worth story—the story they tell that keeps them denying their own worth. The denial may include generational abusive and/or intrusive injunctions that go against their lived truth.

Psychotherapists will come away from this book with a deep understanding of the importance of attending to the degree of trauma experienced when the client’s self-worth is separated from their individual truth. Moreover, where there is worth-based trauma, the psychotherapist will learn models both for helping clients gently and honestly reestablish a worthy and true sense of self and for consciously guiding clients toward recovery of human worth as a birthright.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040411872
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/08/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Dawna Daigneault, EdS, LPC, CCTP, is a writer, speaker, and professional counselor with twenty years of experience. She specializes in serving clients with self-worth challenges that complicate client trauma.

Chris Brown, MS, PhD, is professor emerita in the Psychology and Counseling Department at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. She is a licensed psychologist with more than forty years of experience providing psychotherapy to culturally diverse populations.

Table of Contents

1. Theoretical Framework 2. Human Dignity and Wellness 3. Congruent Sense of Self 4. Worth-Conscious Theory (WCT) Constructs 5. Realized Self-Worth, Lost-Worth Stories, and Trauma-Informed Care 6. Systemic Exigencies and The Four Pillars of Self-Worth 7. The Four Quadrants 8. Psychotherapy Techniques

Editorial Reviews

"This book is an important contribution to the theory and practice of psychotherapy, presenting a well-developed model that highlights the essential role of self-worth. Drawing from an extensive bibliography, the authors craft a therapeutic approach that is both practical and transformative. This work is an important resource for psychotherapists, counselors, and anyone dedicated to fostering self-realization and meaningful change in their clients."

Pamela Seator, MD, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in private practice

"The authors have written a gem of a book that should be required reading for psychology and counseling students. This book offers a rich and expansive view of the concept of self-worth. The authors masterfully introduce the concept of birthright self-worth and its importance as a cornerstone of mental health."

Larry Ro-Trock, PhD, psychologist and marriage and family therapist

"This is the most inspiring clinical book I have read in years. Daigneault and Brown have assembled the framework of worth-conscious theory with clarity and conciseness. The clinical examples are inspiring and helpful. I felt genuinely excited and filled with new ways of thinking, and I have already started to use those ideas with my clients. This is a much needed and welcome guidebook that all psychotherapists will want to read and refer to!"

Gaye E. Henderson, MS, licensed professional counselor

"Daigneault and Brown have made a significant contribution to therapy practice with their discussion of self-worth. Their book includes invaluable insights into how issues of self-worth manifest in therapy and how to structure the work to pay it the fundamental attention it deserves."

Claude Brunell, PsyD, clinical psychologist

"Daigneault and Brown present strategies and techniques to help clients live fuller, more authentic lives. The authors' innovative therapeutic approach reflects deep thought, careful observation, and thorough research."

Martha Childers, education specialist and licensed clinical professional counselor

 

 

From the Publisher