Monthly Archives: June 2019

Perfectionism and the Imposter Syndrome

Embracing Your Inner Expert: Perfectionism and the Impostor Syndrome in Mental Health

“The problem was that I carried around with me a tendency to feel that other people’s respect for me would vanish if what I did was second rate. And while I accept that this ‘perfectionism’ is likely to stimulate the production of better work, it doesn’t, unfortunately, go hand in hand with a relaxed and happy attitude to life.”

— John Cleese, television and film actor

Have you ever felt that your best isn’t good enough? Have you faced pressure from yourself or others to be better than great—to be perfect? Even though we all know no one really is, this unrealistic self-expectation can still creep into our minds regarding our relationships, our hobbies, and especially our jobs.

Mental health professionals are no exception. Due to the demanding nature of their work, therapists and counselors may feel the need to know everything and have all the answers for the people they serve. And if they don’t have all the answers for their clients, they might feel unknowledgeable or unqualified for their job.

Even though such thoughts and feelings aren’t based in reality, they can fill us with anxiety and slowly eat away at our confidence. Over time, we might even start to feel like we’re living the life of an impostor.

 

The Impostor Syndrome: A Threat Lurking Under the Surface

In 1978, Dr. Pauline Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes published a study on 150 high-achieving women who did not believe they deserved their accomplishments. Despite their educational honors, professional successes and recognition from peers, they secretly considered themselves to be intellectual frauds and lived in constant fear of being exposed.

This was the first documentation of the impostor syndrome. Today, we know this condition affects both women and men equally and is especially prevalent in academic and workplace settings. People who have this condition don’t believe they are as competent as others think, and they attribute their successes to luck or hard work rather than innate ability.

Someone suffering from impostor syndrome has an internal monologue that sounds like this: 

“I feel like a fake.”

“I must not fail.”

“I just got lucky.”

“If I can do it, anyone can.”

As mental health professionals, we’ve spent a lot of time and effort to obtain the proper certifications and licenses. It’s been ingrained in us that we need a certain level of expertise and permission from people who are smarter than us to practice psychology. Ironically, even once we’ve obtained that expertise and permission, we may wonder if we’re really good enough for the job.

We can fall prey to the impostor syndrome if we let these feelings get the better of us. Fortunately, there are several things we can do to prevent this.

 

 

Unleashing the Expert Within

Just like with other anxiety-related issues, combating the fears of perfectionism requires us to examine and adjust our thought patterns. We can start to regain confidence in our professional worth by confronting our faulty self-perceptions with reality.

Here are some of the best ways you can do this:

  • Recognize your expertise. The simple fact of the matter is that if you have the education and certifications to be a practicing counselor or therapist, then you are an expert in your field. This doesn’t mean there’s no room for you to continue building on your expertise, but it does mean you’re more than qualified to provide treatment for your clients.
  • Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Mental health professionals sometimes develop the belief that because their job is to counsel others, they aren’t allowed to make any errors themselves. This is simply not true. Everyone messes up from time to time, and therapists and counselors are entitled to the same forgiveness for mistakes as the people who are seeking their help.
  • Reframe thoughts of self-doubt. If you find yourself repeating the internal monologues of the impostor syndrome, change your mental chatter to focus on your strengths and abilities. Instead of obsessing that you aren’t good enough, remind yourself that you will continue to improve over time. Reframing your negative thoughts can be especially helpful right before an achievement event, such as before an appointment with a client.
  • Talk to your peers. The worst thing we can do when struggling with negative thoughts is stay inside our own heads. Discussing your feelings with your colleagues can create opportunities for positive reinforcement and provide you with a realistic perspective on your abilities. You might also discover that they have perfectionism fears of their own, which can help you feel less alone in your struggles.

Those working in mental health may sometimes feel the need to be perfect, but we should remember that being professional does not mean being infallible. The best way to serve our clients is to be confident in our abilities and let our inner experts shine through.

If you liked this post on perfectionism and the impostor syndrome in the field of mental health, you might also enjoy our blog post on peer-based recovery support!

 

Some say Yoga is simple physical exercises. They’re wrong.

Bringing Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Into Mental Health Practice

The Body Keeps The Score Chapter 16:  Yoga & Learning to Inhabit Your Body

In The Body Keeps the Score, Trauma Expert Bessel Van Der Kolk explains the effects of trauma by recounting his first meeting with a patient we’ll refer to as ‘Sarah’.  She was breathing quickly, her legs were shaking, and she was too nervous to talk.  Sarah had been abused by both her parents growing up, and carried the resulting shock well into adulthood at the age of 27.  What can help individuals like these, who are too traumatized for traditional talk therapy?   

Working with the Breath

Dr. Van Der Kolk says that Heart Rate Variability (or HRV) plays a crucial role in our response to trauma. Healthy people typically have high HRV, which means their pulse fluctuates rapidly in response to external stimuli. This reflects a well-functioning nervous system which is able to change in balance with our environment. High-HRV individuals can moderate their emotions by controlling their breathing, allowing them to stay calm and engaged in the present moment.
 

In contrast, survivors like Sarah tend to be stuck in their traumatic past, taking rapid short breaths out of worry that their trauma may return–even when the threat has long subsided.  This causes poor HRV, a state in which changes in breathing take much longer to affect emotion. Poor HRV has negative effects on thinking and feeling, and it also contributes to heart disease and cancer. Luckily, techniques exist which allow us to regain some control over our reactions to triggering stimuli.

Therapist & Yogi Anne Halleck finds that combining these two practices allows her clients to make progress rapidly.  She reports that yoga can teach powerful techniques to utilize the breath and improve mindfulness.  She says,

“I blend yoga and therapy to different degrees depending on the needs of each client. I often introduce mindfulness and practices such as calming breathing or meditation into individual and group therapy in order to approach mental health in a more holistic and integrative way…There is a lot more to yoga than yoga pants and being flexible!”
 
 
Chat Conversation 

Anne is specially certified as a trauma-sensitive yoga teacher.  This therapy was highlighted in The Body Keeps the Score, which highlights new technologies linking the body and the brain.  We’ve learned that the prefrontal cortex is not where trauma is being stored.  It’s actually being stored in the nonverbal—even preverbal part of the brain, suggesting that a more integrative approach may be more successful than talk therapy alone.  Van Der Kolk presents several work-arounds to reconnect with the body, with ourselves, and with others. 

The good news:  Sarah began yoga for the trauma she had experienced and recovered, in a yoga group just like Anne Halleck’s.  While Van Der Kolk discusses many promising new approaches, yoga remains among the best at treating PTSD and improving clinical measurements like Heart Rate Variability. 

Trauma Sensitive Yoga

It looks like the evidence supports Anne’s observations.  Learn more about PTSD, HRV, and yoga in this video.  If mind-body approaches like yoga have helped your mental health (or a loved one’s), let others know by sharing this post! 

LGBTQ Pride 2019: Explaining the Gender Unicorn with Youth MOVE

Gender, Sexuality, and Mental Health

Youth MOVE Indiana

“Alot of people don’t know how to talk about this sort of topic; It’s been sort of a taboo subject in years past, and people are nervous“, explains Madeline Zielinski of Youth MOVE National.  At the state level, April Moody of Youth MOVE Indianapolis (YMIN) works to help children with mental and behavioral issues. YMIN’s mission is to inspire and unite youth to bring real change by furthering acceptance, tolerance, and understanding of mental health.  Youth MOVE has facilitated LGBTQ trainings for companies across the country, including ICAADA locally.   This PRIDE month, we asked Youth MOVE experts April Moody and Madeline Zielinski for a general update on mental health as it relates to the LGBTQ community.  

Five Dimensions to Sexuality

April and Madeline are opinion leaders in the field of mental health and sexuality, and their concern is both personal and professional.  As the book Headcase explains, “Many studies indicate that LGBTQ communities are at higher risk than heterosexuals for substance use and mental health disorders–eg; 27.6% compared to 10.5%.”  This Pride month, we asked April and Madeline to explain the curriculum covered by the trainings they facilitate across Indiana with Youth MOVE.  To encourage understanding, they use a framework of five dimensions, organized into a handy meme by transstudent.org:

The aforementioned experts from Youth MOVE like to use the gender unicorn as a basic way to organize our thinking about sexuality.  

  • The rainbow shows that gender identity is self-configured.  It cannot be observed from the outside.  
  • Then we have our gender expression.  This is our appearance, which includes how we dress, walk, talk, etc.  
  • Sex assigned at birth: This one is not on a spectrum, yet.
  • Physically attracted to the male and/or female form, as opposed to
  • Romantic/Emotional attraction, as when attraction is distinct from falling in love. 

Youth MOVE explains that many other cultures dont rely on a binary, black-and-white model of sexuality.  Please like and share this article to encourage understanding and show support for your friend or family member.   As April says, “The real goal is to create a culture in which ‘coming-out’ isn’t even a thing.  Sexuality is an important part of us, but it does not define us.”

Posted by Cummins Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. on Thursday, June 6, 2019

Happy PRIDE Month from Cummins BHS!