Imposter Syndrome: Who's Talking?

Who's Talking?

Do you ever wonder if you're not good enough?

Not smart enough?

Not experienced enough?

Not the right person for the job?

Have you ever looked around and thought, Someone else would do this better than me?

If so, let me ask you another question.

What makes you believe that?

What if you're actually capable?

What if you're prepared?

What if you're exactly where you need to be—but there's a voice inside convincing you otherwise?

That's the tricky thing about imposter syndrome. It doesn't usually announce itself. It quietly whispers:

"You don't belong here."

"Someone is going to figure out you don't know what you're doing."

"You're not enough."

The problem is that we often mistake that voice for our own.

A while back, I noticed something while journaling. A harsh, critical thought crossed my mind—one I would never say to another person. I stopped and asked myself, Where did that come from?

It sounded like my voice, but it didn't sound like me.

It wasn't compassionate.

It wasn't truthful.

It certainly wasn't how I speak to others.

That realization changed something for me.

Maybe the most important voice to question isn't the encouraging one.

Maybe it's the critical one.

As counselors, we often encounter imposter experiences when we're stretched by a difficult case, a new role, supervision, presenting, or stepping into leadership. But this isn't unique to counseling. Many people experience the same internal battle when they're asked to grow beyond what feels familiar.

The answer isn't pretending you never feel self-doubt.

The answer is learning to answer self-doubt with truth.

When the voice says, "You're not qualified," remind yourself of the education, experience, supervision, and growth that brought you here.

When it says, "You don't know enough," remember that no ethical clinician knows everything. Competent professionals continue learning throughout their careers.

When it says, "You don't belong," ask yourself a simple question:

What evidence supports that thought?

More often than not, you'll discover the evidence points in another direction.

Perhaps the real imposter isn't you.

Perhaps it's the voice pretending to be you.

And maybe it's time to stop letting that voice make your decisions.