Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome as an Intern Counselor

As I reflect on my time as an intern counselor at Life’s Learning, I will focus on two areas of growth for me. The first is around identifying and beginning to confront my experience of the “imposter syndrome” and in trusting the counseling process.

Imposter syndrome is defined as an internal pattern where one doubts their accomplishments and has a underlying fear of being exposed as a “fraud.” Imposter syndrome has been a lifelong friend for me. I remember walking into my internship interview feeling underqualified and consumed with the fear of being found out. This carried through with getting my first client, second client, and every other major milestone of my internship process.

When some clients shared about their anxiety, there was a time that I was consumed with fear. I was certainly going to be found out this time because I too am an anxious person. Yet the clients never questioned this. A year and half later this feeling is still present and there are some key shifts in my response to similar issues. Being a counselor is a big responsibility and I am grateful that there is a part of me that keeps me in check. Anxiety is synonymous with being human, it makes sense that I struggle with similar things as my clients do. I am learning to manage this fear through my own work and process.

I have learned to trust the process of counseling. I consider myself a black and white thinker in recovery. Even though I understand the counseling process is not linear, I struggle with this idea. The perfectionist in me rears its head and reminds me progress is perfection. I am thinking back to circumstances with clients and I thought clients had met their goal and then they reverted back. I remember going, “Oh no!” in my mind. I felt lost and hopeless as a counselor. I had to confront this viewpoint during my internship.

As I sit with this thought today, I believe, that it is is just human to go back to what is familiar. I recognize change is a process. This thought is further reinforced by being witness to clients making great strides in their work over time.

Knowing myself, I realize that imposter syndrome and trusting the process of counseling will be things I struggle with. However, I have hope and a belief that I am starting to learn to manage and modulate them. Simply put, I am human.

It has been a great honor to be a part of Rubjoyt’s journey to becoming a counselor. I am very grateful for her contribution to my practice with assisting clients to heal and improve their lives. I am most thankful to get to know her.

I have witnessed as Rubjoyt has both identified her challenges, confronted the imposter syndrome that she describes and grown in numerous ways both personally and professionally. The first step of any confrontation with self is in being aware of what needs to be changed, in order to shift and heal. In being open to her own process, she has begun to settle both into herself and with her role as a counselor. It has been rewarding to watch as she begins to see what I saw in her from her first day . . . and to see this come through in a more assured place.

I believe so strongly that as counselors and as human beings, growth comes through digging deep and being open to the learning process in both the hard and the good. This is a lifelong quest for all of us. We are all imperfect beings. I am thriled that Rubjoyt’s takeaway is that she is human like the rest of us and that she has begun the journey of questioning and honoring. She has only just begun in what she is creating. Congratulations on completing your internship and upcoming graduation, Rubjoyt!