1.Peggy Hickey, MA, LPCVerified
(503) 568-1846
8407 SW 46th Ave Portland Ave, Portland, OR 97219
Anxiety · Codependency · Coping Skills
orcounselors.com/provider/peggy-hickey-portland
Specialties
Self Esteem Therapists in Oregon
Self-esteem work is foundational to mental health. Oregon therapists specializing in self-esteem help you challenge negative self-beliefs, build confidence, and develop a healthier relationship with yourself.
Effective approaches include Compassion-Focused Therapy (developed specifically for chronic shame and self-criticism), Internal Family Systems (IFS), schema therapy for the deeper templates that drive low self-worth, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for unhooking from self-critical thoughts, and trauma-informed work when self-esteem is rooted in early experiences of rejection, criticism, or neglect. Self-esteem rarely shifts through affirmations alone — sustainable change usually requires understanding where the inner critic came, what it's been protecting you, and what it would take for it to relax.
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- Telehealth
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Self Esteem also matches related modalities: Self-Harming, Self-Exploration, Guilt & Self Loathing, Self compassion and Mindfulness.. Results below include all of them.
Peggy Hickey
Self EsteemAccepting Verified
- Fee
- $150–$200 per session
- In-network
- Aetna, Moda Health, Providence +1 more
Semi Grey (she/her) Supervisor
Self Esteem- Fee
- Up to $225 per session
- In-network
- OHP: CareOregon, Health Share, IHN-CCO and 2 more, Regence, BlueCross BlueShield +10 more
- Fee
- $200–$250 per session
- In-network
- OHP: Open Card, Providence
Wyatt Okeefe
Self Esteem
Related Articles
From Oregon providers writing about this topic.
Enrolling a New Behavioral Health Organization in Oregon Medicaid: Forms, Screening, and Where CCOs Fit
A new outpatient or substance use disorder program in Oregon can have its certificate from the Oregon Health Authority, a full clinical team, and a waiting list, and still be unable to bill the Oregon Health Plan. Medicaid enrollment is a separate application with its own federal screening, and an…
OHP Claim Deadlines for Oregon Behavioral Health Programs: 120 Days, 12 Months, and When You Can Bill the Client
Most Oregon behavioral health programs don't lose Oregon Health Plan revenue on big denials. They lose it quietly, on claims that sat in a work queue a few weeks too long, or on a balance someone sent to the client that the rules never allowed. Both problems come from the…
Oregon's July 2027 Rule for Associates Billing Medicaid: What Outpatient Programs Should Fix Now
Oregon outpatient programs that rely on board-registered associates for Medicaid work have a hard date on the calendar. Permanent Administrative Order BHS 18-2026, filed June 30, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, amended OAR 309-019-0125 and OAR 309-019-0130. The filing caption is blunt: board-registered associates must work in organizations with…
Rest as Resistance: Saying No to Grind Culture with Your Whole Body
Learn more in Episode 12 of The Inked Therapist Podcast Rest is not laziness, a luxury, or a prize you earn for being productive enough. Rest is a practice of refusal in a world that treats human beings—especially Black, brown, disabled, queer, trans, fat, and poor folks—as resources to be…
Complex Trauma vs PTSD: Understanding the Difference, and Why It Matters
When people think of trauma, they often imagine one defining event, a car accident, assault, or natural disaster. That’s the kind of experience typically associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But what happens when trauma isn’t one moment in time, but a long thread that weaves through your childhood, relationships…
What Belongs in an Oregon Plan of Correction After an OHA Behavioral Health Review
Most Oregon outpatient programs treat a Plan of Correction as a paperwork chore after a hard review week. That is the wrong frame. Under OAR 309-008-0800, the Division can deny, revoke, refuse to renew, or put conditions on your Certificate of Approval if the POC is late or thin. The…
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Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this coverage in Oregon.
Do Oregon self-esteem therapists accept OHP/Oregon Health Plan?
This makes treatment more accessible for those with OHP coverage.
Is telehealth available for self-esteem in Oregon?
This allows clients across Oregon, including those in remote areas, to access therapy from the comfort of their homes.
Do Oregon self-esteem therapists offer sliding scale fees?
This can make therapy more affordable and accessible for a wider range of individuals.
Is it low self-esteem or body dysmorphia?
Low self-esteem is a generalized sense that you are not enough — across appearance, intelligence, relationships, work, all of it. Body dysmorphia (BDD) is more focused: distressing preoccupation with one or more specific perceived flaws (skin, hair, nose, body shape) that others either don't see or see as minor, paired with repetitive checking, comparison, or avoidance. BDD has a stronger overlap with OCD and responds well to CBT with exposure-and-response prevention; general low self-esteem usually responds to compassion-focused therapy, IFS, or schema work. A good Oregon therapist will help you tell them apart in the first session or two.
Do filters and AI-edited photos make adult self-esteem worse, not just teens?
Yes — research from 2024–2026 shows the "filter dysmorphia" effect is documented in adults too, particularly women in their 30s and 40s. Daily exposure to AI-smoothed and filtered selfies (often without realizing the filter is on) shifts your baseline expectation of what skin, eyes, and proportions should look like in the mirror. The fix isn't willpower; it is reducing exposure (a one-month break from photo-editing apps measurably moves baseline self-image), and therapy work that re-grounds self-worth in something other than appearance.
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS) and why do I keep hearing about it for self-criticism?
IFS treats the inner critic as a "part" of you — usually a protective part that learned early on that staying critical was the way to keep you safe (avoid shame, avoid rejection, push you to perform). Instead of trying to silence the critic or fight it, IFS helps you understand what it's afraid will happen if it stops, build trust with it, and let it relax into a less driving role.
Why don't affirmations work for me?
Research is clear: positive affirmations actually make low-self-esteem people feel worse, because the gap between the affirmation ("I am worthy of love") and your felt experience ("I don't believe that") activates rejection of the message. Compassion-Focused Therapy and IFS take a different angle — instead of overriding the inner critic with the opposite thought, you build curiosity about the critic, understand what it's afraid will happen if it stops, and gradually shift its role. That tends to land where affirmations bounce off.
Can therapy fix self-esteem if my upbringing damaged it?
Yes, with realistic expectations about pace. Self-esteem damage from chronic criticism, emotional neglect, conditional love, or scapegoating is usually held in implicit memory (felt sense, body, automatic relational patterns) more than explicit memory. Cognitive work alone often plateaus; the methods that move the needle are usually some combination of IFS, schema therapy, EMDR for specific high-charge memories, and somatic work to update the felt sense. Most Oregon clients see meaningful shift in 9–18 months of weekly work.
How do I find a therapist who won't just tell me to love myself?
Ask in the consult call: "How do you actually work with self-esteem? What do you do beyond reframing?" A therapist who can name specific methods — IFS, CFT, schema, attachment work — and explain how they'd apply them to your story is going to be more useful than one who answers in generalities. Filter for trauma-informed when low self-esteem is rooted in childhood; many self-esteem cases overlap meaningfully with complex trauma.
These therapists employ evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to address self-esteem issues.