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Imposter syndrome affects a significant number of high-achieving individuals, causing them to doubt themselves or feel like a fraud, and adversely affecting their mental health.
This article provides an overview of imposter syndrome, with examples and strategies to help clients overcome this phenomenon using imposter syndrome worksheets.
We’ve included a free downloadable imposter syndrome worksheet that you can save to your electronic health record (EHR) and use in your practice.
What is imposter syndrome (and examples)?
Imposter syndrome, also known as imposter phenomenon, is a condition that affects a high proportion of high-achieving people, women, and other minorities.
Key features of imposter syndrome include:
Believing that others overestimate your ability
Persistent self-doubt
Fear of being exposed as a fraud
Not attributing success to your competence or experience
Rationalizing your success as luck or due to help from others
Looking at setbacks as confirmation of your inadequacy
Having impossibly high expectations of yourself
Discounting accomplishments and focusing on negative feedback
Hiding flaws rather than tackling them
Believing that others are more worthy than you
Comparing yourself to others and viewing them as more competent
Research shows that there is a connection between people who experience imposter syndrome and mental health disorders, including burnout, anxiety, and depression. Imposter syndrome can also exacerbate other mental health issues.
What is imposter syndrome at work?
Imposter syndrome usually occurs when being given a project, assignment, or other achievement-related tasks.
Examples of imposter syndrome at work include:
Getting a promotion, but thinking that they made a mistake because you’re underqualified, or that they mustn’t have had many applications.
Receiving praise for your contribution to a project, but believing your boss was being generous.
Avoiding speaking up in meetings due to a fear of being exposed.
Overpreparing for assignments so that others don’t realize your incompetence.
Believing that you don’t belong among other high achievers.
Procrastinating on a task, then rushing to complete it, and because of your underpreparation, you believe you will be exposed as a fraud.
Imposter syndrome workshop activities
Many clinicians introduce the imposter syndrome worksheet during a session so clients can work through these activities in real time, then continue the reflection at home.
While there are broader systemic and structural factors that contribute to imposter syndrome, there are some ways to challenge thoughts and boost self-confidence on an individual level, including:
Check the accuracy of your thoughts: People with imposter syndrome may minimize their achievements, which is a common thought distortion. You can challenge these thought errors by identifying the cognitive distortions, checking the validity of your thoughts, and cognitively restructuring your thoughts into a more balanced perspective that acknowledges your abilities.
Mask activity: This activity explores the mask we present to the outside world and how we truly see ourselves. Using a mask outline on a sheet of paper, write, paint, or draw the face or persona you present to others. On another sheet of paper, create a mask of how you see yourself and the feelings, thoughts, and other things you keep hidden from others.
Success timeline: Draw a timeline of your personal and professional achievements on a sheet of paper, including skills you’ve learned, qualifications, bonuses, praise and positive feedback, promotions, and challenges you’ve overcome.
How to use the imposter syndrome worksheet
You can download and use the imposter syndrome worksheets in several ways:
Use the worksheet to provide psychoeducation about imposter phenomenon.
Give the client a copy of the imposter syndrome worksheet to take home.
Ask the client to reflect on the worksheet and complete the reflection questions between sessions and report their findings at their next therapy appointment.
Use the imposter syndrome worksheets to provide training to interns or supervisees about being a new clinician.
Combine this worksheet with other strengths-based and positive psychology resources, such as our values worksheet, assertive communication worksheet, self-esteem sentence completion worksheets, positive traits worksheet, strengths worksheet, and positive experiences worksheet.
Share the imposter syndrome worksheet with coworkers or leave copies in your office.
Sources
Bielenberg, C., Ibrahim, F., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2025). The impact of workplace environment on the impostor phenomenon among early career starters. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences.
Bravata, D. M., Madhusudhan, D. K., Boroff, M., Cokley, K. O. (2020). Commentary: Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: A systematic review. Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology.
Huecker, M. R., Shreffler, J., McKeny, P. T., & Davis, D. (2023). Imposter phenomenon. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.
Stanford University. (n.d.). Imposter Syndrome.
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