Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: A Guide for Counsellors and Psychotherapists

The following article is based on a lecture that can be found in our CPD Lecture Library.

As a counsellor or psychotherapist, you may find yourself grappling with self-doubt despite having a strong academic background and clinical experience. This internal voice that whispers “I’m not good enough” is a hallmark of imposter syndrome, a phenomenon that disproportionately affects high-achieving professionals – including those in the helping professions.

Imposter syndrome can significantly impact your confidence, decision-making, and client relationships. Understanding and addressing this experience is essential not only for your well-being but also for modelling self-acceptance and authenticity for your clients.

Learning Outcomes

From this exploration, you will be able to:

• Understand the psychological dynamics behind imposter syndrome.
• Recognise the five common personality types most affected.
• Identify risk factors and their impact on your practice.
• Apply evidence-informed strategies to challenge and reframe imposter thoughts.
• Embrace authenticity as a cornerstone of therapeutic presence.

Recognising Imposter Syndrome in Your Practice

Defining the Experience

Imposter syndrome is defined as the internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be, despite objective successes. According to Kolligian and Sternberg (1991), it involves persistent self-doubt and a fear of being exposed as a fraud, particularly among high achievers.

It is worth noting that imposter syndrome is not recognised as a distinct psychological disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Instead, it is best understood as a common psychological experience that can co-occur with other difficulties such as anxiety and depression.

This is not classified as a psychological disorder in the DSM-5, yet it remains a widespread and impactful internal experience, especially among those working in emotionally demanding professions like counselling.

Five Faces of the Imposter Experience

Valerie Young (2011) identified five personality archetypes prone to imposter syndrome:

• The Expert: Feels they must know everything before starting a task.
• The Perfectionist: Focuses on flaws and rarely feels satisfied.
• The Natural Genius: Becomes disoriented when a task doesn’t come easily.
• The Soloist: Believes asking for help exposes inadequacy.
• The Superhero: Overworks to mask feelings of inferiority.

These patterns may resonate with how you or your clients experience professional challenges.

Risk Factors in the Counselling Profession

Imposter syndrome is often intensified by specific environmental and psychological conditions, including:

• Facing new roles or transitions (e.g. qualifying, private practice).
• Growing up in unsupportive or critical family systems.
• Belonging to marginalised communities (Ahmed et al., 2020).
• Living with depression or anxiety.

Understanding these risk factors is key to building compassion for yourself and others navigating this experience.

The Impact on Your Professional Life

Imposter syndrome can subtly – or dramatically – shape how you show up in your work:

• You might undercharge, over-study, or avoid visibility.
• You may discount positive feedback, overanalyse mistakes, and focus on perceived failures.
• Fears of inadequacy can stall career progression.
• You might conform to perceived expectations rather than act from your authentic self.

Practitioners may downgrade their career choices to avoid perceived exposure or over-invest in training to feel competent. Others may expect failure despite a proven track record, or self-impose unnecessary limits that restrict growth and opportunity. Over time, this erodes confidence and can lead to burnout, isolation, or stalled practice development.

Breaking the Vicious Cycle

Imposter syndrome thrives in secrecy, perfectionism, and over-analysis. When we critique ourselves mid-task, performance tends to decline – not because we lack skill, but because our attention is divided. Simultaneously, we may ignore praise or reassurance from others, assuming that their positive feedback doesn’t apply to us.

This creates a vicious cycle: poor concentration leads to mistakes or delays, which reinforce negative self-beliefs and prevent us from acknowledging progress or seeking support. Often, this is compounded by isolation – believing we are alone in these feelings, even when others quietly experience the same.

Recognising and disrupting these loops, particularly through techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), can help restore clarity, performance, and confidence. This is particularly useful when imposter syndrome co-occurs with anxiety or depression, for which CBT is already an evidence-based practice.

Strategies to Reclaim Personal Power in Your Practice

Before we move on to practical strategies, it’s helpful to acknowledge that imposter syndrome is a widespread and natural experience, not a flaw or a failing. Our brains are evolutionarily wired to be more alert to threats (like social rejection or failure) than opportunities. This means feelings of not being good enough are often more about perceived danger than objective reality.

Normalising these thoughts – rather than judging them – can be a therapeutic act in itself, especially in supervision or therapy with counsellors who feel they should “know better” than to doubt themselves. As Cuddy (2015) reminds us, if so many of us feel like impostors, perhaps the problem lies not in our abilities, but in how we see ourselves.

Understanding Perpendicular vs. Personal Power

• Perpendicular power – external, temporary sources like money, titles, or accolades.
• Personal power – grounded in authenticity, self-acceptance, and intrinsic values.

In therapeutic work, it’s the latter that creates genuine presence and relational safety. Embracing your authentic self, flaws and all, can enhance your connection with clients and reduce the dissonance that fuels imposter syndrome.

Practical Tools for Overcoming Imposter Thoughts

Evidence-based strategies include:

• Cognitive Reframing: Recast anxiety as excitement; challenge catastrophic thinking.
• Realism over Perfectionism: Acknowledge what is “good enough.”
• Gratitude Practice: Focus on what you’ve achieved, not what you lack.
• Mindful Reflection: Pause and recognise your growth.
• Doing Before Feeling Ready: Confidence Often Follows Action.
• Seek Support: Choose allies who understand your mission and values.
• Stop the Comparison Trap: Measure yourself only against your past self.
• Embrace failure as an opportunity for growth.
• Laugh at yourself in a gentle, kind way.
• Avoid colluding with others’ pedestals.
• Remember that you may already be seen as a role model.
• Make small, realistic changes instead of setting unattainable goals.

Reflection Exercises for Practitioners

Try these questions in supervision, personal development, or client work:

• What kind of people or situations trigger imposter feelings for you?
• What is your unique life experience? Consider pivotal life events and what they taught you.
• What are your strengths, skills, and abilities – especially those not covered by formal training?
• What have you contributed to your community or created through your work?
• Practise gratitude: What aspects of your professional journey are you thankful for today?

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Remarks

Imposter syndrome thrives in silence and self-judgement. But within a reflective, compassionate, and grounded therapeutic environment, it can be reframed as a shared human experience rather than a personal failing. For you as a practitioner, this means allowing yourself to be imperfect, to grow, and to claim the space you’ve earned through lived experience and professional commitment.

Working with imposter syndrome – whether in yourself or your clients – requires a gentle unravelling of unhelpful beliefs and the conscious choice to live and work from a place of being, not just doing.

References and Further Reading

Ahmed, A. et al. (2020). Why is there a higher rate of impostor syndrome among BIPOC? Across The Spectrum of Socioeconomics, 1(2), 1–17.

Bravata, D. M. et al. (2020). Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: A Systematic Review. Journal of General Internal Medicine. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7174434/

Brown, B. (2022). The Gifts of Imperfection. Minnesota: Hazelden.

Cuddy, A. (2015). Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. New York: Little, Brown.

Kolligian, J. Jr & Sternberg, R. J. (1991). Perceived fraudulence in young adults: Is there an ‘imposter syndrome’? J Pers Assess. 56(2), 308–326.

Young, V. (2011). The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive In Spite of It. New York: Random House.

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