Do you ever find yourself thinking, how could you be so stupid, you look fat, or you’re a horrible mother? Are you afraid people will find out you’ve fooled them into thinking you're competent? If you’re guilty of expressing these types of discouraging messages, then you have a bitch in your head. This self-critical behavior can wreak havoc with your life—it can keep you from getting the love you want, the raise you deserve, or even a good night’s sleep. Dr. Plumez began to notice a pattern with her patients being too hard on themselves. She found that gentler approaches didn’t work, but when she told them they were being a bitch—to themselves!—they finally recognized their self-defeating attitude and how much it was weighing them down.With this book, Dr. Plumez can help you banish the bitch. It identifies the different types of “bitches”—work, marriage, parenting, and so on—and provides effective tools and techniques to combat the forms of self-destruction described. Once you begin to encourage rather than criticize, you will find that your career, social life, and relationships almost magically improve.

Incredibly interesting, relevant, and true! -- Dr. Erica Saxe Ross, psychologist and cocreator of Tool Kits for Kids™
Whatever you call that nagging voice in your head, it won’t help you reach your goals. This book teaches you how to recognize and silence the inner critic who constantly undermines your self-esteem. Dr. Plumez combines a warm personal style with the sound professional strategies needed to cultivate positive self-talk. With greater awareness, you will learn to shift negative attitudes and become a kinder, more nurturing daily partner for yourself. -- Dr. Rita Freedman, author of Bodylove: Learning to Like Your Looks and Yourself
The Bitch in Your Head is important reading for mental health professionals and readers alike. Dr. Jacqueline Plumez brings to light a previously unaddressed area of irrational negative self-talk and presents the reader with the opportunity to reexamine this self-criticism and see themselves anew through the eyes of loving friend—a friend they can keep on their bookshelf and in their head. -- Gloria Batkin Kahn, psychologist and former president of the American Board of Group Psychology, the Westchester County Psychological Association, and the Westchester Group Psychotherapy Society
Dr. Plumez is the mother and the therapist we all should have had. But at least we can have her book. -- Adrienne Skinner, founder of The Lipstick Club and cofounder of Book Banter
By personifying the internal voice that torments so many of us, Dr. Plumez enables us to challenge and resist it. In a lively, engaging style, she illuminates the origins of this inner critic and the damage it can do, then offers concrete strategies for transformation. This book can change lives! -- Jean Kilbourne
'Society makes girls and women more vulnerable to self-criticism,' psychotherapist and career counselor Dr. Jacqueline Hornor Plumez writes in The Bitch in Your Head. Plumez refers to the often pervasive, interior female voice of disapproval that preys upon secret vulnerabilities--even in seemingly successful and confident women--as 'The Bitch.' This destructive, demoralizing force is behind accusatory self-talk and insults like, You look fat.... Why didn't you...? How could you say that...? You're a horrible person/mother/wife/friend. . . .According to Plumez, 'The Bitch' takes many forms. It can permeate all aspects of life, starting in childhood and reappearing at pivotal moments, from dating to marriage and divorce, parenting and work, and even in the golden years. It has the capacity to interfere with sleep, diminish productivity and exacerbate self-defeating tendencies, guilt, depression and phobias. Over the course of 16 thought-provoking chapters, detailed case studies reveal stories of women trying to combat and keep 'The Bitch' at bay. Plumez's strategies, tools and techniques transform this negative inner voice from insulting and demeaning to encouraging and empowering, which can, in turn, improve a woman's quality of life. Discover: An enlightening psychology book aimed at women trying to silence their critical interior voice. * Shelf Awareness *

Dr. Jacqueline Hornor Plumez is an award-winning psychologist. She is the author of Successful Adoption, Divorcing a Corporation, and Mother Power. She has appeared on The Today Show and Good Morning America, and her articles have appeared in Ladies’ Home Journal and The New York Times Magazine. She lives in Larchmont, New York.