Imposter syndrome…. We all seem to suffer with it…

In fact I would go so far as to say I have yet to meet a psychologist or therapist in private practice who does not suffer from imposter syndrome.

I’ve gotten to know my imposter syndrome very well over the past few years. I have even created a character for it that I refer to as “the imp”.

My imp mainly says thing like “you are just a brilliant bullshitter, people will soon find out there's no intellect behind you”. Literally, any achievement can be undermined by a voice in my head that believes I basically con my way through life.

Maybe you have a similar voice in your head. Or maybe your imp says something different. Maybe it thinks you don’t deserve things you have or maybe it thinks you will be exposed as an idiot sooner or later. 

Whatever your imposter syndrome imp says to you there is one thing they all have in common. They like to hold us back and if we let them, they can keep us paralysed in our practices.

I’ve noticed 6 key ways in which imposter syndrome seems to cause problem for the psychologists and therapists I support in Psychology Business School and the DMTT membership. Do any of these behaviours ring true for you?

Perfectionism - ie. never finishing/submitting anything because it is never “ready”

Procrastination - never starting anything (or putting it off for ages) because you are worried you won’t do well or could fail

Failing to plan your business - because a plan seems like a grand thing to have right? No one’s imp wants them to own up to having a big vision for their business

Setting your prices too low - if your imp is in charge of your business you will most likely find yourself charging less than someone you respect in your area. For a better pricing framework that your imp is not in charge of listen to our pricing episode with Sally Farrent here.

Feeling resentful of others who are successful (at anything) - anytime I catch myself thinking “it’s unfair” when I see someone who has achieved something I want to achieve and appears to have an advantage behind them I often realise it is really the imp talking to me. Because if I KNEW that I was good enough, just as I am, why wouldn’t I just be happy for someone else who has success? Why would I resent the advantages they have been given? The only reason to resent someone is not feeling good enough in yourself. 

Playing small and feeling unfulfilled - ever had that feeling that you could/should be doing more but in reality, you don’t take any steps towards a bigger vision? Classic conflict between your imp and an ambitious part of your mind.

So can we crush imposter syndrome?

Probably not… 

Sorry about that but we can change our relationship to it. If you are familiar with ACT a lot of this will already be in your repertoire but I find it helpful to turn the attention onto myself from time to time and I hope you will do too. 

Of course there are a thousand techniques that you can use once you realise that imposter syndrome is holding you back - you can choose anything from your therapy toolkit that resonates with you.

This is the one that works for me…

I like to get to know my imp… So I write them a little story. I write about when they first came out to try and protect me, I write what they think I am protecting me from and what they fear will happen if they were to stand down. I write what they look like, what they sound like, how big they are and where they like to hang out.

If I was remotely artistic it would probably be helpful to draw them.

Then I thank them for their service, explain that I don’t need their protection today and focus on getting present with what I am doing.

There are times that I know I am going to struggle with imposter syndrome. For example, everytime I record a podcast, especially a solo episode like this one, so I have a copy of these notes in my phone so I can have a quick read and respectfully dismiss my imp quickly.

Sometimes I also need to do a bit of regulation, a bit of soothing breathing or stretching if I am having a particularly painful imposter moment but generally this is enough to get me started on what I want to do. I hope it might help some of you too.

I’d really love to have a conversation with you all about how you manage imposter syndrome. I think the best way to get an imp to stand down is to realise that EVERYONE struggles with it, even people who are objectively FANTASTIC. So I will put a thread in the Do More Than Therapy facebook community and I would live it if you would share your experiences there. 

If you aren’t in the FB community already the link to join over 1700 other psychologists and therapists dedicated to making an impact on mental health is here.

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Do you sometimes wake up at 2 am worried that you’ve made a terrible error that will bring professional ruin upon you and disgrace your family?

I’m laughing now but when I first set up in private practice I was completely terrified that I had “missed” something big when setting up insurance or data protection.

Even now, three years in, I sometimes catch myself wondering if I have really covered all the bases. 

It is hard, no impossible, to think creatively and have the impact you should be having in your practice if you aren’t confident that you have a secure business. BUT it can be overwhelming to figure out exactly what you need to prioritise before those clients start coming in.

I’ve created a free checklist (plus resources list) to take the thinking out of it. Tick off every box and you can see your clients confident in the knowledge that you have everything in place for your security and theirs.

Download it now

https://psychologybusinessschool.com/client-checklist