106: Imposter Phenomenon and Therapist Burnout 2.0
From Therapist Burnout Podcast: Mental Health, Business, and Career Tips for Therapists, Counselors, & Psychologists by Dr. Jen Blanchette
April 20, 2026 · 17 min
About this episode
In this episode, Dr. Jen Blanchette discusses the imposter phenomenon and its connection to therapist burnout, sharing personal experiences and insights on self-compassion and the pursuit of certifications.
Subscribe to the Leaving the Chair Newsletter: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb Are you a therapist who keeps adding certifications, trainings, and credentials, hoping that this one will finally make you feel like you're enough? In this episode, Jen gets personal about the inner voices of imposter phenomenon — the ones that say "I failed," "I'm not cut out for this," and "how did I get it all so wrong?" — and shares the reframes (and the time it actually takes to get there) that helped her find compassion for herself and her journey. IN THIS EPISODE The knowledge trap in independent practice When we're working alone, we rarely get to mirror our expertise back to others — and that silence can make us feel like we're missing something. Jen explores how that feeling can send us chasing certifications instead of addressing what's actually going on. The dog walker who hit different Jen's new dog walker is a former ornithologist who left her career and summed it up simply: "I was never done." That phrase perfectly captures the arrival fallacy — the belief that once you hit a certain milestone (the EMDR cert, the LLLP, the full fee), you'll finally feel like you've…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Jen Blanchette
Topics covered
- imposter phenomenon
- therapist burnout
- self-compassion
- certifications
- independent practice
- arrival fallacy
Keywords
- imposter phenomenon
- therapist burnout
- self-compassion
- certifications
- independent practice
- arrival fallacy
- mental health
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Leaving the Chair Newsletter
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