189. Imposter Syndrome with Jill and Debbie

Imposter syndrome involves doubting your abilities or skills, and can often leave high-achieving people feeling fraudulent or undeserving of their achievements. In fact, this syndrome has affected some of the most renowned celebrities (e.g., Lady Gaga), CEO’s (e.g., Howard Schultz), and a few of our favorite podcast co-hosts. In this episode of Psychologists Off the Clock, two of our high-achieving co-hosts, Jill and Debbie, rely on both their personal experiences and empirical evidence in their discussion of imposter syndrome.

Fellow imposters and frauds, please join us to learn more about imposter syndrome, and get some practical advice for dealing with it!

Listen and Learn:

• About the ACBS panel that inspired Debbie and Jill to do this episode on imposter syndrome together
• Some of Jill and Debbie’s personal experiences with imposter syndrome
• Their empirically-backed, expert definition of imposter syndrome
• Common thoughts and emotions that show up with imposter syndrome
• When, why, and how imposter syndrome currently shows up for Debbie and Jill
• Practical advice on what to do instead of “comparing and despairing” and information on how that behavior impacts imposter syndrome
• Empirical evidence on why marginalized groups are disproportionately affected by imposter syndrome 
• Actual statistics on imposter syndrome and who it affects
• The evolutionary, social implications behind imposter syndrome
• About the subtypes of imposter syndrome (and how to find yours!)
• Some practical advice from our co-hosts for dealing with imposter syndrome

Resources: 

• The Art of Charm Podcast’s episode with Jill on Imposter Syndrome 
• Suzanne Imes and Pauline Clance’s paper on The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women 
• More information on David Barlow and his Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders 
• Valerie Young’s book, The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women
• Alicia Menendez’s book, The Likeability Trap  
• Eve Rodsky’s book, Fair Play 
• Jill’s book, Be Mighty and her Imposter Syndrome Subtype quiz 
• More information on Janet Helms and her work on WHMPS 
• Dr. Bessima Tewfik – MIT professor who researches Imposter Syndrome

About Jill Stoddard and Debbie Sorensen:

Jill Stoddard earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Boston University where she trained at the highly regarded Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders under the mentorship of Dr. David Barlow and Dr. Stefan Hofmann. She is founder and director of The Center for Stress & Anxiety Management, co-founder and vice president of the non-profit San Diego Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Consortium, and member-at-large for The Association of Contextual and Behavioral Sciences (ACBS). Dr. Stoddard specializes in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders and has expertise in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She is an award winning teacher, peer-reviewed ACT trainer, author of two books, and co-host of the popular Psychologists Off The Clock podcast. 

Debbie Sorensen, co-founder and co-host of Psychologists Off the Clock, is a clinical  psychologist with a Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University and a private therapy practice in Denver, Colorado. She specializes in providing individual Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for adults. In addition to private practice, she holds a part-time appointment as a Clinical Research Psychologist at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide Prevention. She is also a co-founder of ImpACT Psychology Colorado, a psychotherapy collective in Denver/Boulder, and the Healthcare Wellbeing Collective, which provides mental health support and resources for Healthcare Professionals. She is a nationally-recognized trainer and training consultant in ACT for the VA. She currently lives in Colorado, her home state, and where she enjoys reading fiction, cooking, travel, and getting outdoors in the beautiful Colorado Rockies with her family and dog. Check out her and co-host Diana Hill’s book, ACT Daily Journal: Get Unstuck and Live Fully with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. 

Related Episodes:

• Episode 163. The Likeability Trap with Alicia Menendez 
• Episode 176. Fair Play with Eve Rodsky 
• Episode 173. Confidence, Self-Doubt, and Overcoming Limitations with Michael Herold 
• Episode 1. Taking a Leap Into Something Meaningful 

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