It requires consistent repetition. Many people have grown up in environments where negative messages predominate. To counter negative beliefs the counselor can use positive supporting words. You are strong. The message must be genuine, and it needs reiteration.
Some clients use a tape recorder to play back their positive messages.
Some people define their own problems in ways that make it impossible to solve them. Clients can be reinforced for not having foreclosed options so that they can now explore several possibilities. The counselor can also point out that it is not necessary to plan the rest of one's life, that it may be quite sufficient to decide what to try next. The client needs to be given permission to take the time necessary to plan the next step. The initially massive problem can be broken down into a series of manageable mini-steps.