About Me
Hello, my name is Steve Donovan. Do you struggle with feelings/thoughts that you are somehow just not "good enough" or don't measure up? Do these self-defeating thoughts get in the way of you living the life you want? If so, I would love to work with you.
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I have been a practicing clinician for ten years. In that time, I’ve heard people speak about several beliefs about self that were unhealthy and self-defeating. Through therapeutic exploration, it has been discovered what often underlies these cognitive distortions is a misattribution of something that once happened. The Greek philosopher, Epictetus, is said to have written, “People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.” In other words, something happened so therefore its occurrence says something about me and how I fit in the world.
As these distortions are often critical, they often lead to unnecessary suffering, often self-imposed. My primary aim as a therapist is to help my clients identify those thoughts that may be holding them hostage, discern how they began, what purpose they have fulfilled or may be fulfilling in their life currently, and develop interventions to address them in a healthier way. The mission of my private practice, Less Than No More Counseling PLLC, is to do just that. Why the name. “Less Than No More”? Often those same cognitive distortions which hold us back involve a sentiment that says, “You are less than” or broken/flawed in some way. We all have our shortcomings and regrets but this does not mean our sense of self worth should suffer.
This is contrary to my personally held belief that ALL human beings have inherent worth simply because they draw breath. That includes you, friend. That same Greek philosopher also wrote, “It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” Get in touch me; let’s talk. I am accepting new clients at this time.
Specializing in addressing Anxiety, Depression, Low Self-Esteem and Impostor Syndrome
Anxiety and Depression
Low Self-Esteem
Impostor Syndrome
All too often, negative beliefs about self can lead to internalized distress which can affect our general mood manifesting in either anxiety (worry about the future) or depression ("an inability to construct a future").
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These two psychological states can become overwhelming and life-interfering. I like to take a holistic approach to first address the symptoms of distress before we can move on to possible underlying contributing factors behind them. It is difficult to do the work of overturning negative core beliefs when you are actively suffering from its effects.
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Treatment modalities include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interventions such as relaxation and stress reduction techniques, guided discovery, thought defusion, behavioral experiments, and cognitive restructuring and reframing, Interventions and techniques from sections of Mindfulness and Distress Tolerance from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) are used as well.
Generally speaking,, self-esteem refers to how we place value on ourselves as a person. People with low self-esteem usually have long held negative core beliefs about who they are as a person. These beliefs are often looked at as "facts" or "truths" about their identity, rather than being recognized as opinions they hold about themselves.
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These negative core beliefs often have origins in Adverse Childhood Experiences in which our view of life and our place in it are still forming. We can come to early conclusions based on these experiences..
Another aspect to consider is how we respond when we believe these beliefs about self to be true. Human beings are adaptable in our ability to come up with strategies to keep ourselves emotionally safe, We tend to do this by attempting to live our lives by "rules" or assumptions to pursue an illusion of emotional safety. The function of doing this is to attempt to protect ourselves from the impact of our negative core beliefs. Sometimes these strategies work in the short-term but can become maladaptive as we grow older.
Impostor syndrome is a term that refers to a psychological condition when someone feels "not good enough" to such an extent that they are unable to acknowledge their own accomplishments, skills or talents. They often feel as if they are a fraud, are being given credit or recognition they don’t feel they deserve, and others will eventually "figure out" they are not worthy of praise or recognition. It is a fairly common phenomenon, said to affect 70% of the population at some time in their lives to varying degrees.
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It has be has been referred to as "internal self-doubt that overrides any form of logic, evidence or fact. Self-doubt will win any argument or challenge you present it with, leaving you with the notion that your ability to deceive others and create this ‘fraudulent’ character is the only thing you’re actually good at."
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The impact on the person is that their confidence is often undermined before they can get started on goals, projects, careers, or even relationships.