Imposter syndrome for therapists

I am three years into being a full blown therapist and imposter syndrome is truly still running wild. I fluctuate between feeling super confident and feeling like an imposter. Sometimes I find myself thinking “Hell ya I got this! I’m a great therapist! I know what I’m talking about!” And other times I wonder why people even come to me for services. Why am I qualified to help others with their most vulnerable challenges?

Therapy is so weird to me in this way because yes, we go through extensive training and graduate school, but we really cannot be adequately prepared for every situation. We really just have to use what we know, act ethically, and try our best. I guess that is something you can say about any profession though.

I think the reason why I get major imposter syndrome sometimes is because I work with people affected by cancer, and I have not personally experienced cancer, and I also work with parents, and I am not a parent. So I find myself thinking, “Who am I to tell these people how to parent?” or “Why do I think I can support these people through a life changing diagnosis?” When this comes into my head I try to remind myself what I learned in grad school, that you can’t experience everything that your clients have experienced. If you did you would cease to exist because life would be so incredibly challenging. I remind myself that I am there to support and guide people, not “teach” them.

I also find comfort in learning so much from my clients. I truly learn from clients every single day, and when I see shared experiences or similarities between clients, I use past knowledge from clients to better support the current.

A lot of therapists also call themselves “experts” in a certain area of the field, and I really wonder what qualifies them as an expert. Is it a certain amount of years working with a certain population or presenting challenge? What is it? Similar to the word “specialization” where therapists say they specialize in a million different topics. This has always felt weird to me too.

To combat imposter syndrome I also just remember that people love being listened to, and that is enough. I am a sounding board for others, and bring my authenticity and humanity into session, as well as my knowledge, and that is enough!