Lack of Self-Confidence and Professional Uncertainty: How Psychodrama in Individual Therapy Helped Rediscover Inner Strength

“Everything is falling apart. I no longer know who I am or what to do.”

Sometimes, at first glance, it may seem that a person is simply struggling with work.

Uncertainty.

Fewer projects.

A sense of instability.

Fear about the future of their career.

Yet sometimes professional uncertainty, career changes or a career crisis touch a much deeper place within a person.

Who am I when the things I have relied on begin to shift?

Where did my ambition go?

Why was I once able to move forward, while now I feel as though I have become frozen?

Sometimes questions begin to circle in a person’s mind:

I don’t know what kind of work I want to do.

I don’t know what to do next.

I don’t know what to do with my life.

And the longer a person remains alone with these thoughts, the more professional uncertainty can begin to affect their self-worth, self-confidence, relationships and emotional well-being.

Gabija came to individual therapy experiencing a lack of self-confidence and feeling weighed down by difficult thoughts and emotions on a daily basis.

At that time, one of the most difficult themes in her life was not knowing where or how to move forward professionally.

Instability in her professional environment and uncertainty about the future began to weigh heavily on her.

Gabija experienced self-reproach.

A sense of inadequacy.

It felt as though the world was moving forward while she was unable to keep up.

“It felt as though the entire model of the world and society I live in was too difficult for me, and I was falling behind, unable to catch up.”

It became difficult to concentrate.

To hear what was happening around her.

To be present in the here and now.

To notice the good things that were still happening in her daily life.

Her difficult inner state also began to affect her relationships with the people closest to her.

“I argued a lot with the people I love most. I wanted to be ‘saved’.”

Lack of Self-Confidence Does Not Always Look Like Shyness

We sometimes assume that a person who lacks self-confidence must be quiet, shy or afraid to take action.

Yet a lack of self-confidence can be far less visible.

A person may be professional.

Ambitious.

They may have successfully pursued career goals for many years.

Created.

Worked.

Taken responsibility.

Yet when career changes, a professional crisis or uncertainty about work arise, self-reproach, feelings of inadequacy and increasingly strong self-doubt may begin to emerge.

Why can I no longer be the person I used to be?

Where did my strength go?

Why don’t I trust myself anymore?

An individual therapeutic process can help a person look beyond the external problem and explore what this problem has touched within them.

When Professional Uncertainty Touches Identity

During the individual therapeutic process, it gradually became clear that professional uncertainty meant much more to Gabija than the possibility of fewer projects or reduced income.

It touched her sense of safety.

Her self-confidence.

Her relationship with her own worth.

Gabija remembered a different version of herself.

Ambitious.

Determined to pursue her professional goals.

Creative.

Longing for freedom.

Wanting to create her own professional path.

For many years, she had developed and strengthened this part of herself.

But now, something seemed to have changed.

“I feel as though I am losing my position.”

Professional instability seemed to open the door to a deeper inner crisis.

“I no longer know who I am.”

Sometimes a person’s identity becomes so closely connected to their ability to act, achieve, create and maintain control that a professional crisis affects more than work.

It touches the very relationship they have with themselves.

Individual Therapy and Meeting Different Parts of the Self

During individual therapy, with psychodrama as part of the therapeutic process, different inner parts of Gabija began to emerge.

One was strong, ambitious, determined and able to move forward.

Another was tired, doubting herself and lacking inner certainty.

Gabija later wrote in her reflection:

“The most significant moment was distinguishing between the weaker and stronger parts of my ‘self’ and stepping into these roles.”

In her own words, the process unfolded naturally:

“It wasn’t difficult because everything happened very naturally. Rūta’s questions and her slow yet deep guidance, through purposeful questions, opened something I had not known was there.”

Within the individual therapeutic process, while working psychodramatically, a symbol spontaneously emerged.

The Spine.

The Light Pink Spine

Gabija associated her inner strength with the Spine.

With something that represented firmness, self-confidence and the ability to move forward.

During the psychodramatic process, the symbol of the Spine took form.

It was firm on the inside.

Soft on the outside.

Light pink.

For Gabija, this colour represented kindness, authenticity, gentleness and clarity.

Her inner strength did not appear as something cold or rigid.

It was strong and gentle at the same time.

During the therapeutic process, the Spine also found its own voice:

“I am still here. You cannot move me.”

Gradually, one of the most important discoveries of this work began to emerge.

Perhaps Gabija’s strength had not been lost.

Perhaps it had simply been forgotten.

“I realised that the strength I once had had never disappeared. It had simply gone unnoticed for a long time.”

Sometimes a person spends so long looking at their fear, exhaustion, self-reproach and lack of self-confidence that they stop seeing their own inner resources.

The parts of themselves that once knew how to stand up.

Learn.

Work.

Create.

Make decisions.

Change their life.

Those parts have not disappeared.

When an Inner Symbol Becomes a Source of Support

This psychodramatic work was one meaningful moment within Gabija’s longer individual therapy process.

The aim of the therapeutic process was not to eliminate all uncertainty from life or instantly resolve every question about her professional future.

Yet something changed in the inner place from which Gabija began to look at her situation.

At the end of the process, we remained with the spontaneously emerging image of the light pink Spine.

During the integrative part of the process, Gabija experienced this inner resource as something that held and supported her.

In her own voice, she repeated the words of the Spine:

“I am here. And I am unshakeable.”

This was not an affirmation I had given her.

These words emerged from Gabija’s own therapeutic process.

A Symbol That Left Therapy With Her

Sometimes an image born in therapy remains within the therapeutic space.

At other times, it begins to live in a person’s everyday life.

Gabija wrote in her reflection:

“The image of my light pink, unshakeable Spine emerged. I cannot forget it, and I see it every day. It reminds me of the roots of my own strength.”

She also noticed:

“What surprised me was that I genuinely felt stronger immediately after the session. I saw myself from a completely different perspective.”

Gabija’s experience is part of a longer individual therapy process.

“My therapeutic journey has been very winding, but every session has helped me become increasingly more stable. I feel that I am still on my journey.”

This psychodramatic process became one meaningful moment in her therapeutic journey.

A moment in which she saw herself from a different perspective.

“I Discovered an Adult Woman Within Me”

Gabija described one of her most important discoveries in just two words:

“An adult woman.”

These words are deeply meaningful to me.

At the beginning of her therapeutic journey, Gabija felt a desire to be “saved”.

Now she speaks about a growing ability to notice her inner state, learn to stay with it and avoid placing the full weight of her sorrow onto the people closest to her.

“I argue and ‘explode’ much less, and I no longer pour my sorrow onto them in the same way, because I have learned — and am still learning — to manage it myself.”

She writes:

“I no longer allow negative thoughts or a bad day to destroy my relationships with others. I gather myself and return to life without burning bridges.”

And:

“I no longer allow my lack of self-confidence to limit me or lock me inside a ‘prison of inaction’.”

Her professional future may still contain uncertainty.

Life may still bring difficult days.

But a person can learn to relate differently to what is happening.

“I began to see myself and the contexts around me from a different, more positive perspective — as though I am part of this world. Before, I felt separate from it.”

The therapeutic process was also followed by practical action.

Exploring new professional opportunities.

Seeing herself more positively.

Positioning herself differently in relation to herself, her loved ones and her colleagues.

At the same time, she began to allow herself not to rush the process.

To become calmer.

To trust herself more.

Gabija’s Reflection on Her Individual Therapy Journey

Gabija describes her therapeutic journey as a winding path in which each session has helped her become increasingly more stable.

“I feel that I am still on my journey.”

When speaking about what therapy has given her, she says:

“Faith in myself and in the world.”

Her relationship with herself now contains more love, trust and a desire to listen to herself.

The image of the light pink Spine remains alive in her everyday life.

“It reminds me of the roots of my own strength.”

And its voice continues to remind her:

“I am here. And I am unshakeable.”

To someone experiencing a similar struggle today, Gabija would say:

“I would tell them that they are strong and capable of solving their problems, if only they have a trustworthy guide beside them.”

In her own words, seeking help is worthwhile:

“For the sake of a better quality of daily life and future, for inner peace, and for the people we love.”

Above all, Gabija hopes that her story will give others hope and faith.

“The strength to solve problems lies within the person themselves. The person is the resource — sometimes they simply need help unlocking it.”

She described the most important message of her story in these words:

“Every person carries an untamed strength within them, but deep wounds can overshadow it. When you finally see that strength, the whole world lights up in different colours.”

And if she could return to the version of herself who first decided to begin therapy, Gabija would say:

“I am so glad you found the courage to do it.”

♥️ Thank you, Gabija, for your trust, courage, openness and permission to share your story.

One of the greatest gifts in my work is witnessing how, within an individual therapeutic process, a person gradually begins to see themselves differently, rediscover their inner resources and create a new relationship with themselves.

Over the years, I have come to understand that every person’s story is unique. Yet deeply human themes often repeat themselves — safety, self-worth, relationships, loneliness, fear, inner support and the question:

“Who am I when the things I have relied on begin to change?”

Sometimes strength does not need to be created again.

Sometimes we need a safe individual therapy space, professional guidance and time to rediscover what has been within us all along.

If You Recognise Yourself in This Story

If you are experiencing a lack of self-confidence, a career crisis, career changes or professional uncertainty, and increasingly find yourself thinking:

“I don’t know what kind of work I want to do.”

“I don’t know what to do next.”

“I don’t know what to do with my life.”

Or if you notice that difficult thoughts, self-reproach and feelings of inadequacy are beginning to affect your daily life and relationships, I invite you to book individual therapy, in person or online.

In my individual therapeutic work, I draw on psychodrama, monodrama, psychogenealogy and transgenerational therapy methods.

Together, we explore your inner world, relationship experiences, roles and inner resources.

I work in person and online with clients in Lithuania and internationally.

Let us journey inward together. 🌸

Rūta Janulevičienė

• CPTT – Certified Practitioner of Psychogenealogy and Transgenerational Therapy
• Psychodrama Leader Practitioner (under supervision)
• Psychodrama Assistant
• Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator

Book an individual consultation: ⁠Rūta Janulevičienė’s website https://rutajanuleviciene.lt/