Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome has been something that we’ve talked about in professional and academic settings for years. It’s the sense that you didn’t earn your place and if people only knew that you didn’t deserve to be in the position, they would immediately kick you out.

I’ve been a counselor for a little over 4 years and I still sometimes question whether or not I’m supposed to be doing this. My family is mostly blue collar workers and many didn’t even finish high school, let alone go to any higher education. I was the first in my family to graduate with a bachelors degree (followed very quickly by a cousin) and the only one with a graduate degree.

I share this because when I talk with some of my colleagues, they tell me about their families, many having been pushed towards college or come from families with lots of formal education. This made me feel like an outsider, like I wasn’t on their level, and the second I made a mistake, they would see that I didn’t belong there. It didn’t help that I went to college at 25 and many of them were already established in the field by the time I started my undergraduate degree.

I’ve just reached my 1-year anniversary of being in private practice and still sometimes think that I don’t deserve to be in this position. I feel like somehow I faked my way into graduating, passing my licensing exams and fooled the state into granting me my license to practice.

Whenever those thoughts come in, I’m reminded of a Tumblr post (silly, I know) that essentially said “You didn’t fake your way into being where you are now. You showed others that you worked hard, convinced them that you had what it takes and busted your ass to prove it”.

You deserve to be happy and do what it takes to get there, even if you feel like you don’t.

#impostor #syndrome #therapy #mentalhealth #counseling