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There are a collection of emotional experiences that are common to all humans: Happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anxiety, disgust, anger, enjoyment, and oftentimes, imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon that can be experienced by any human in any field of work, but due to the nature of clinical therapy, the feeling of being an imposter is something most therapists will experience at some point, especially child and adolescent therapists.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
The Journal of General Internal Medicine defines Imposter Syndrome as follows:
“Imposter syndrome… describes high-achieving individuals who, despite their objective successes, fail to internalize their accomplishments and have persistent self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or imposter.”
To put it simply, if you struggle to include your capabilities, achievements, and potential in your sense of self, then you may feel like a fraud, and, as a result, doubt yourself – despite the collection of moments or accomplishments when your capability was proven.
Who is at risk of Imposter Syndrome?
No one is immune from Imposter Syndrome. The phenomenon can impact both men and women in any career, but there is increasing evidence that therapists are likely to encounter this phenomenon at some point in their career. Level of experience (from newbie to advanced) and format (virtual versus in-person) doesn’t appear to have an impact.
Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome
Here are the primary symptoms of Imposter Syndrome:
Imposter Syndrome causes - Why does Imposter Syndrome happen?
There are arguably countless reasons why an experienced and/or qualified child therapist may experience Imposter Syndrome. Self-doubt can make anyone feel like a fraud, but if you are a child therapist then here are three primary reasons why you may experience Imposter Syndrome.
If you are not a parent yourself, you may dread the potential question from parents, “how old are your kids?” or “how many children do you have?”
However, keep in mind that even if you are not a parent, the caregivers are (most of the time) not child therapists. Which means, regardless of whether you are a parent, when it comes to therapy you are still the expert in the situation. You still have a deep understanding of childhood psychology and childhood development, and the caregivers are coming to you for a reason.
You may feel real or perceived pressure from the child’s caregivers to change the child’s behavior to whatever the parents consider positive behavior to be. You may feel the need to accomplish the parent’s goals in your work with the child in order to “prove” that therapy is working. However, these situations often come at the very high cost of not feeling confident in the process, because the therapeutic process may be much different from whatever the caregiver’s presumed process might look like.
It is always a good idea to stay true to your expertise and stick to the therapeutic process by helping caregivers understand that child therapy is more than changing unwanted behaviors – although that certainly can be the result sometimes. Remember: the primary objective of child therapy is about the child feeling seen, heard, understood, and supported by healthy relationships. Changed behavior is the secondary result that may come about in the therapeutic process.
Since therapists tend to be highly empathetic and agreeable people, having to manage caregiver expectations may feel daunting and can add to the felt sense of insecurity.
It can be challenging sometimes to join the child’s interests and meet them where they are, but it is possible. For example, ask them questions about the video game, be willing to play with them, and to keep trying to gain a deeper understanding of what the child’s world and thoughts are like.
Additionally, there are many misconceptions about what child therapy is, by both parents and other professionals. Oftentimes a child will tell others “we played” when describing their sessions, and as a result, the caregivers may surmise that the child “should” be doing something else more productive or beneficial.
Any number of challenges such as these can cause child therapists to question their abilities to work with children (virtually or otherwise), and unfortunately, this doubt is often reflected in interactions with the child, which in turn affects the behavior of the child and the therapist/client relationship.
What to do if you have Imposter Syndrome?
If you are reading this article and suspecting that you have Imposter Syndrome, then rest assured, relief from feelings of Imposter Syndrome is possible. Here is how to successfully navigate Imposter Syndrome.
How to successfully navigate Imposter Syndrome.
For newer child therapists, seeking some professional support such as professional training, consultation (individual or group), therapy, etc. is especially a good idea.
Feeling like a fraud creates a mindset of fear and facing that fear together with some professional support may be very helpful. At Hopscotch, we have seen that newer therapists benefit most from individual or group consultation.
For more seasoned therapists, engage in some intensive self-reflection analysis. Self-reflection is part of your journey, and it is one of the best ways to grow. If you are more experienced in your career, then look inward. How do you feel about some of the more innovative methods? Is there a clash of cultural norms and therapy methodology as a result? Was there a time you felt like a fraud before? What triggered the feeling? How did you manage or process the feeling last time?
Imposter Syndrome whispers fearful commentary in your head like, “You’re gunna fail!” But in truth, success and failure are arbitrary terms, and success or whatever you define as failure is not entirely up to you. Child therapy is an extremely collaborative process, and working with the child client’s caregivers is essential.
Most parents need their child’s therapist to help them understand the benefits of therapy, what therapy looks like with children and adolescents, and how successful virtual therapy can be. Part of being a child therapist is helping caregivers understand that children are never “just playing” in therapy. Consider your script for introducing or reframing therapy, art therapy, and play therapy to parents during your intake and throughout your parent check-ins.
Hopscotch’s team of experts highly recommends this excellent video which can help caregivers understand why talk therapy is not always the best route for children. Consider showing this video to parents as part of the intake process.
Watch now: Introducing Andrew – The Association for Play Therapy
Unfortunately, there are many unhelpful and inaccurate perceptions surrounding child and adolescent therapy. Many times, children are brought to therapy because they are perceived to have problem behaviors that “need to be fixed.” Understandably, this may cause the child to view therapy as a consequence rather than as a beneficial method to receive supportive assistance with their difficulties. Any time you can normalize therapy and reframe your client’s perspective, you are making a difference.
Ah… self-care. For many therapists, self-care is easier to advocate for than commit to. While you are busy trying to care for your clients, please do not forget to care for yourself. No one can pour from an empty cup, and sometimes, all that is needed to banish the fear and restore confidence is some restorative self-care.
Special thanks to Dr. Rachel Altvater, Hopscotch Clinical Advisor, who helped inspire this article and contributed her wisdom about Play Therapy, Imposter Syndrome and entering a child’s world during a recent conversation with Hopscotch!
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