Impostor Syndrome: What Is It and the Role of Psychotherapy in Treating It

Impostor syndrome is a psychological condition characterised by an internal experience of believing that one is not as competent as others see them. A person may feel fake and inauthentic, often feeling like a fraud who is about to be found out and potentially shamed and ridiculed. Despite evidence of their accomplishments, individuals with impostor syndrome tend to be convinced that they are frauds and fake. This self-perception can significantly affect an individual's self-esteem, impacting their sense of agency, and contributing to overwhelming feelings of inadequacy.

Psychotherapy can be useful in addressing the complex roots of impostor syndrome, which often stem from childhood experiences and the entrenched belief systems developed during that time. Childhood trauma in various forms frequently underpins the impostor syndrome. Through psychotherapeutic treatment, an individual can explore these underlying beliefs and gain a deeper understanding of the feelings, thoughts and behaviours contributing to their feelings of being an impostor. However, psychotherapy contrasts with coaching or mentorship, which are often resorted to in attempts to tackle impostor syndrome. Unlike psychotherapy, coaching may provide tools for managing performance and building confidence but typically does not explore the deep-seated origins of this condition. A similar case applies to cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), which may address the symptoms but will often not address the underlying causes.

Understanding Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome, also known as impostor phenomenon, is a psychological pattern that distorts how someone perceives themselves. Even though individuals experiencing impostor syndrome may have achieved success or accomplished a lot in their lives, they will often strongly believe deep down that they are not good enough, smart enough, or deserving of their achievements. Their self-esteem becomes closely tied to a constant feeling of inadequacy, ineptitude, lack of authenticity, incompetence, and sometimes shallowness.

Simply put, impostor syndrome is when a person feels less competent than they truly are, inducing a feeling of being a fake and a fraud who is about to be found out. A person will often worry that their accomplishments are just luck and not a product of their skills or hard work. This persistent doubt casts a shadow over their achievements and recognition, making them fear being exposed as a fraud, which often comes with fears of shame and being ridiculed.

This psychological pattern can have profound impacts on different areas of a person’s life.

Performance Impacts

People with impostor syndrome often get trapped in a cycle of over-preparation and overworking to hide their perceived weaknesses. They may also be prone to procrastination, consciously or unconsciously fearing that they will expose their inaptitude and incompetence by not doing something well enough. They set impossibly high standards for themselves and then feel immense pressure trying to meet them. After failing to meet them, they feel inadequate and unworthy, which they may use as a reaffirmation of their underlying beliefs. Even after reaching their goals, they attribute their success to luck instead of recognising their own abilities.

Some research points out that those with impostor syndrome tend to have a negative impact on the career progression of the individual, despite them potentially being a high achiever (Neureiter & Traut-Mattausch, 2016).

Romantic Relationship Impacts

Impostor syndrome can also affect personal relationships. Individuals may believe they don't deserve love or respect. Someone who suffers from impostor syndrome may develop paranoid thoughts and lack of trust for their romantic partner, assuming their partner is about to leave them because they believe the individual is not good enough. This may not only create relationship issues but, at times, result in crippling anxiety and even push the partner away due to the insecurities the individual with impostor syndrome feels.

This constant self-doubt not only drains mental energy but also creates a sense of loneliness. People with impostor syndrome often suffer in silence, thinking they're the only ones experiencing it. Their fear of being exposed stops them from opening up about these feelings, which only strengthens their belief of being an impostor.

The paradox of impostor syndrome is that it's difficult to identify. Those who struggle with it often excel in their fields, their outward success masking the internal turmoil they face. Furthermore, the individuals who suffer from it may be completely unaware of it. Namely, a person suffering from impostor syndrome will usually believe they do not have it, but that their diminished perception of themselves is accurate and that they are indeed incapable and fraudulent.

Signs and Symptoms of Impostor Syndrome

Some of the most common signs of impostor syndrome are the following:

• Feeling unsure about one's accomplishments, abilities, skills, and intelligence even when there's evidence of success.

• Believing that external factors, such as pure luck or good timing, are the reasons for success instead of acknowledging a person’s own skills and hard work.

• Worrying that others will see an individual as a fraud and discover their perceived incompetence or incapability.

• Putting in excessive effort to compensate for perceived weaknesses, often leading to attention to detail, obsessing over tasks, and eventually may lead to burnout.

• Setting extremely high standards for oneself and criticising oneself harshly when they these standards are unmet.

• Avoiding feedback because one is afraid it will confirm insecurities about not being good enough, which may lead to feelings of unworthiness, avoidance of social situations, and isolation.

• Fear of success is an important element of impostor syndrome and can either be conscious or unconscious.

• Fantasies of heroism where one thinks about and ruminates over various fantasy situations where they could be seen as heroic by others.

The Developmental Roots of Impostor Syndrome

Whilst there is a lack of research and consensus at present about the developmental origins of impostor syndrome, clinical experience indicates that the roots are deeply embedded in early life experiences and even childhood trauma. Specifically, children who grow up with critical parents or caregivers, so those parents that adopted the authoritarian parenting style, or in environments where there is an over-emphasis on performance, are more likely to develop this impostor-related issue. These scenarios tend to foster a sense of not being good enough which, over time, can solidify into the chronic self-doubt and experiences of inadequacy that are characteristic of impostor phenomenon.

Impostor Syndrome in Romantic Relationships

Impostor syndrome can have a profound impact on romantic relationships, even though it may not be obvious at first. People who experience impostor syndrome in their romantic relationships face unique difficulties, including:

• Strained personal relationships due to fear of rejection.

• Fear of abandonment causing insecurity and anxiety.

• Jealousy, paranoid thoughts, and lack of trust in their romantic partner’s love.

• Putting pressure on their romantic partners to the point of potentially putting the relationship in danger by pushing their romantic partner to reject them.

It is important to recognise that these thoughts and fears are influenced by impostor syndrome and may not reflect reality.

The Role of Psychotherapy in Overcoming the Impostor Phenomenon

The persistent feelings of inadequacy and fear of exposure that characterise impostor syndrome can be deeply entrenched within an individual's psyche. It is essential to recognise that these feelings are not simply a matter of self-esteem that can be remedied with positive self-affirmations and self-motivation. To be tackled at their root, they often require psychotherapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy serves as a critical tool in accessing and addressing the underlying issues and the core internal conflicts that give rise to impostor syndrome.

Psychotherapeutic treatment has the potential to address the root causes of a person's impostor syndrome, which typically stems from various experiences of childhood trauma. Through psychotherapy, an individual can become aware of the previously unconscious beliefs about self and others that underpin this psychological condition. By working through these internal conflicts, the treatment can address the source of the problem.

At times, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is used to tackle impostor syndrome challenges and reframe irrational beliefs about oneself and one's abilities. Whilst CBT may help individuals learn to identify negative thought patterns and replace them with more balanced perspectives, it's important to bear in mind that it tends not to address the underlying conflicts that underpin the individual's impostor phenomenon. So, whilst one may be able to disregard and rationalise their feelings of inadequacy and see them as part of their internal reality rather than external reality, they may not be able to rid themselves of these feelings altogether.

Coaching and mentoring, similarly, play more supportive roles in helping individuals manage the day-to-day challenges associated with impostor syndrome. Coaches and mentors provide guidance, support, and accountability as their coachees strive towards personal development goals. While coaching and mentoring offer immediate tools for improvement, they operate on the surface level – enhancing behaviour, thinking, and performance without addressing the deep-seated emotional conflicts driving impostor syndrome. They are best seen as complementary to psychotherapy rather than its alternatives.

Ales Zivkovic, MSc (TA Psych), CTA(P), PTSTA(P), Psychotherapist, Counsellor, Supervisor

Ales Zivkovic is a psychotherapist, counsellor, and clinical supervisor. He holds an MSc in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy awarded by Middlesex University in London. He is also a Provisional Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (PTSTA-P) and a Certified Transactional Analyst in the field of Psychotherapy (CTA-P). Ales gained extensive experience during his work with individuals and groups in the UK National Health Service (NHS) and his private psychotherapy, counselling, and clinical supervision practice in central London, UK. He was also a member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Ales works with individuals, couples, and groups. In clinical setting, he especially focuses on the treatment of issues of childhood trauma, personality disorders, and relationship issues. A large proportion of his practice involves online psychotherapy as he works with clients from all over the world. Ales developed a distinct psychotherapeutic approach called interpretive dynamic transactional analysis psychotherapy (IDTAP). More about Ales, as well as how to reach him, can be found here.

References:

Neureiter, M., & Traut-Mattausch, E. (2016). Inspecting the Dangers of Feeling like a Fake: An Empirical Investigation of the Impostor Phenomenon in the World of Work. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1445–1445. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01445