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Understanding Self-Worth: A Guide to Worth-Conscious Theory and Psychotherapeutic Practice.
Print and eBook editions are available online at Routledge. Click the link below to see your options.
Utilize this innovative model to help your clients affirm their self-worth as a birthright and rebuild the four pillars of self-worth. Join with your email to get access to the private website pages.

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-based challenges that complicate client trauma.

Chris Brown, M.S., PhD, is professor emerita in the Psychology and Counseling Department at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is a licensed psychologist with 40-plus years of experience providing psychotherapy to culturally diverse populations.
1. Identifying the level of Denied Self-Worth in Therapy
2. The Role of Worth-Consciousness in Well-being
3. How Therapists Can Honor Birthright Self-Worth
4. Mapping injunctions involved in Conditional Self-Worth
5. The Difference between Conditional and Birthright Self-Worth
6. Trauma History, Self-Worth, and Therapeutic Interventions
Kansas City Pitch Magazine (links at the bottom of worth-conscious theory page)
Kansas City Mental Health
Kansas City Star
In Kansas City
Any level of denied self-worth is a hidden driver of psychological suffering. Understanding Self-Worth introduces Worth-Conscious Theory, a framework that helps therapists recognize, treat, and guide clients toward reclaiming self-worth as a birthright.

The authors have written a gem of a book which should be required reading for all Psychology and Counseling students who identify with the Humanistic tradition.
Their book, Worth-Conscious Theory (WCT), offers a rich and expansive view of the concept of self-worth. Taking us on a journey which includes luminaries like Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Virginia Satir and many others, the authors masterfully introduce the concept of birthright self-worth (BSW) and describe its importance as a cornerstone of mental health.
The book offers concrete examples of how to utilize the core concepts of WCT in a therapeutic setting. It also encourages practitioners and students alike to discover new and creative ways to utilize these concepts within their own unique setting.
As a psychotherapist for over 25 years, this is the most inspiring clinical book I have read in years. Daigneault and Browne have put together a 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, which I have already put into practice with my clients. This is a much-needed exploration of self-worth for the Psycho- therapy field. It is a welcome guidebook all psychotherapists will want to read and refer to!
Daigneault and Brown have made a significant contribution to therapy practice with their
discussion of Self-Worth. Their book includes invaluable insight into how issues of self-
worth manifest in therapy and how to structure the work to pay it the fundamental
attention it deserves.
Daigneault and Brown present strategies and techniques to help the client live a fuller, authentic life. Their innovative therapeutic approach reflects deep thought, careful observation, and thorough research.
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. (Dr. Seator is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.)
Upcoming Workshops:
Mental Health America of the Heartland, November 21st, 2025. Join the 3-hour Zoom presentation for mental health professionals on Systemic Self-Worth Denial & Client Recovery.
We are proud to be a sponsor for the NBCC Mental Health Connections Global Virtual Conference in December.
Past Workshops:
The Power of Words 2025 Conference at Unity Village, October 3-5, in Kansas City, MO. Register at: TLA Network - 2025 Power of Words Conference. Experience a visionary line-up of wordsmiths, change-makers, and artists, all in one astonishing weekend. Yes, it's a conference, but in a magical place. Dawna presented, "The Personal Story of Human Worth: Creating a Worth-Conscious Narrative.

We both see clients during regular business hours. We will respond as soon as possible. Please join the FB group, Understanding Self-Worth, to ask questions about the book.