Adolescence is a crucial stage in mental health development and the formation of a distinct sense of self and identity. During this transformative period, young individuals often experience mood swings, engage in risky behaviours, and face conflicts with their parents. These challenges can significantly influence their emotional, physical, and social interactions, ultimately impacting their self-worth and identity. Understanding self-worth, often equated with self-esteem, is essential and can be defined as the internal sense of being worthy of love and belonging. Thus, developing a solid sense of identity is a pivotal task during adolescence.

The Struggles of Identity Formation
As adolescents begin to explore their identities, they encounter the complexities of changing roles and the quest for belonging in social contexts. This exploration often leads to struggles with self-worth. Research indicates that self-esteem plays a vital role in mediating and predicting mental health outcomes, particularly concerning anxiety and depression. There exists a reciprocal relationship between self-esteem and mental health: low self-esteem can heighten vulnerability to mental health issues, while mental health challenges can further diminish self-esteem. According to Rosenberg and his research on self-esteem, self-esteem is significantly influenced by social feedback and personal evaluations. For adolescents, whose identities are still in formation, self-worth is particularly susceptible to external influences that results in little understanding and compassion for themselves.

The Counsellor’s Role
The role of the counsellor is pivotal in helping adolescents navigate the complex dynamics that influence adolescents and impact their self-worth and identity development. Counsellors focus on the psychological well-being of their clients, encouraging adjustments that help them face challenges rather than emphasising their psychopathology. Their goal is to assist individuals who are generally functioning but facing developmental or adjustment issues in finding solutions.When working with teenagers, it is essential for wellness counsellors to consider the developmental stage of their clients and help adolescents understand and navigate the various influences on their mental well-being. While teenagers often focus on external dialogues and the opinions of those around them, they may struggle to recognise the impact of their internal dialogue on their identities. Research suggests that direct attempts to boost self-esteem can lead to adolescents clinging to their positive self-concepts, avoiding challenging experiences that could foster growth.

The Power of Self-Compassion
A promising alternative approach is to cultivate self-compassion among adolescents. Research shows that low self-esteem can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading to negative and harmful behaviours. For instance, the assertion “I am worthless” can resonate deeply in environments that emphasise the importance of high self-esteem for success. When adolescents are taught to strive for perfection, negative self-assessments can significantly impact their behaviour and contribute to poor mental health. In contrast, a compassionate framework teaches young individuals that imperfection is part of the human experience, encouraging them to respond to difficult times with kindness, patience, and self-forgiveness. Furthermore, most people strive to show compassion toward friends and loved ones when they make mistakes, feel inadequate, or face difficult situations. In contrast, we often treat ourselves with much harsher judgement, voicing cruel thoughts that we would never direct at a friend. Self-compassion shifts this dynamic, enabling us to recognise our shortcomings while embracing our nature as flawed, imperfect human beings. Furthermore, as teenagers often struggle to understand others’ experiences and perspectives, self-compassion allows them to become more understanding towards others’ circumstances. Within such supportive contexts, negative self-thoughts may have minimal long-term effects on mental health.

Self-compassion consists of three essential components: treating oneself with kindness, recognising struggles as part of the shared human experience, and maintaining mindful awareness of painful thoughts and feelings. Unlike self-esteem, which often depends on external validation, self-compassion fosters a nurturing environment that allows individuals to engage with their negative self-perceptions without resorting to suppression or exaggeration.The critical factor is not the negativity of thoughts but the response individuals choose when faced with them.

Recent studies highlight that individuals with high self-compassion are less likely to become entangled in negative self-concepts. Counselling can teach adolescents self-compassion and demonstrate how it can buffer against negative emotions, particularly in situations that involve harsh self-evaluation. Furthermore, self-compassion enables individuals to acknowledge their contributions to negative events while maintaining a broader perspective, allowing them to adopt an accepting attitude towards themselves without becoming defensive.

Conclusion
In summary, equipping adolescents with self-compassion can empower them to face adversity and negative self-evaluations with kindness rather than self-blame. By fostering self-compassion, counsellors can play a vital role in helping adolescents navigate the complexities of identity formation and self-worth, ultimately promoting healthier mental well-being during this critical stage of development.

Author: Jo-Anne Jeffrey

References

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Klimstra, T .A., Hale, W.W., Raaijmakers., Q.A.W., Branje, S.J.T . & Meeus, W. H.J. (2010).Identity Formation in Adolescence: Change or Stability?. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39,150-162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9401-4

Marshall, S.L., Parker, P .D., Ciarrochi, J., Sahdra, B., Jackson, C.J. & Heaven, P .C.L. (2015). Self-compassion protects against the negative effects of low self-esteem: A longitudinal study in a large adolescent sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 74, 116-121.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.09.013.

Neff KD, Germer CK. (2018). The Mindful Self‐Compassion workbook: a proven way to accept yourself, find inner strength, and thrive. New York: Guilford.