Unmasking Imposter Syndrome

“Imposter Syndrome” as a Call for Practice

In 1960, Frank DePhillips, William Berliner, and James Cribbin published a textbook called Management of Training Programs, introducing the four stages of competency.

• Unconscious incompetence (Wrong Intuition)
• Conscious Incompetence (Wrong Analysis)
• Conscious Competence (Right Analysis)
• Unconscious Competence (Right Intuition)

Imposter syndrome tends to exist at the third stage, where a skill has been acquired but still needs practice. This can be anxiety-provoking, as it requires effort and vigilance. It can also be frustrating if we have a high expectation for ourselves since perfectionism demands excellence and discounts the need for practice. Fortunately, the more we practice a particular modality, the more effective we become as we leave the conceptual behind to adapt said modality to a real-world setting. This is the progress from book learning to experiential learning. And it’s only through the trial and error of experiential learning that we learn how to adapt, reconceptualize, and reform our approach as needed. 

“Imposter Syndrome” As a Call for Affirmation

When we integrate our knowledge with our self-awareness, we become less susceptible to the Dunning-Kruger effect.

David Dunning and Justin Kruger observed a cognitive bias whereby those with less knowledge in a particular area tend to overestimate their abilities. Imposter syndrome is the complete inverse of this, whereby those with more knowledge underestimate their abilities. Yet keep in mind, imposter syndrome is just as much of a cognitive bias, meaning it’s a form of distorted thinking.

While this kind of bias can help save us from developing a “big head,” it can also lead to self-criticism, self-deprecation, and self-defeating thoughts. To find balance we may need to heed the words of Confucius, who said in the Analects: “To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.”

Knowing when to speak when to listen, when to teach, and when to learn is vital in any therapeutic dynamic. Unfortunately, those with imposter syndrome struggle with a deficit mindset, hyper-focusing on what they don’t know or where they lack experience. Yet by giving ourselves permission to know what we know, we can affirm our strengths.

One way to do this is to hone in on a demographic you have lived experience with, or a mental health issue you have lived experience with, or a particular modality you know well. As a mental health professional, you will invariably draw from your background and education, so it may be time to affirm who you are and where you came from.

And if you feel like you don’t have any knowledge or experience to draw from, try working with clients who are seven years younger than yourself. Seriously! Working with younger clients tends to validate how much you have naturally grown as a person, revealing insight you can draw from. Consider the difference in mindset between a 7-year-old, a 14-year-old, a 21-year-old, a 28-year-old, a 35-year-old, a 42-year-old, and so on. Also, consider the kinds of issues that come up at these respective ages and how to frontload clients younger than yourself. You have more wisdom than you give yourself credit.

“Imposter Syndrome” As a Call for Authenticity

Taking a deeper look at professionalism as a performance, many of us code-switch in occupational environments dominated by cisgender heterosexual white men. At this point, we’re also adopting a cultural persona that’s not our own, utilizing all our skills of camouflage, compartmentalization, and self-monitoring behavior. This added stress picks at all kinds of internalized sexism, racism, and classicism, contributing to imposter syndrome. Indeed, whenever a multifaceted person is squeezed into a one-dimensional persona, they will feel their authenticity pushing back against these limitations.

While a certain level of compartmentalization is required to check our bias and our counter-transference, a certain level of integration is required, too, so that we show up to the session in a genuine way. Revealing that we are, in fact, human can benefit the therapeutic relationship. Certain modalities are more transparent about this than others. Indeed, this humanization is baked into Relational Cultural Therapy and Gestalt Therapy, yet it’s also evident in the rapport-building process found across modalities.

Being authentic in session is distinct from over-disclosure, as we’re not delving into our personal lives, and we’re still maintaining a professional boundary. Yet there’s a lot of empathy, connection, and mutual understanding to be gained when we reveal our humor, our passion, and our personality, complete with strengths and struggles. 

Conclusion

To be a mental health counselor is to be a lifelong student of life itself. It is a humbling career path as our clients go through every kind of emotional upheaval, existential crisis, and real-world obstacle one can imagine. It is impossible to prepare for every scenario or eventuality, as this would ask us to be experts on everything under the sun. Instead, counseling requires us to meet our clients where they’re at, which demands both psychological flexibility on our part, and a willingness to grow, adapt, and think on our feet.

We’re naturally going to feel like a novice when we first enter a career, or learn a technique, or work with a new population because we are. That’s why it’s important to foster self-compassion, as mistakes are not only forthcoming, they’re the formative experiences that teach us the most. Likewise, we will naturally question ourselves when we start to forget who we are behind the role. That’s why it’s important to ground our self-awareness and be honest with ourselves about who we are and how we’re feeling.

Over time, as we start to trust our competency, our knowledge and our experience, it becomes easier to relax into our true colors. And in so doing we bring more of our sincerity and genuine authenticity into session with us.