Is It Normal to Feel Imposter Syndrome as a Practitioner?
Introduction
Yes.
I practically don’t have to write anything else. But of course, I want to talk about my experience here as a Supervisor who has trained and managed numerous PBS Practitioners across all levels of the PBS Framework.
Feeling like an imposter, out of your depth, or worried that others will discover you don't know enough is a common experience among Behaviour Support Practitioners, including experienced practitioners and Supervisors.
From my experience as a PBS Supervisor, having trained and managed Behaviour Support Practitioners across different levels of the PBS Framework, I have seen this experience repeatedly across practitioners at very different stages of their careers. I’ve been privy to more personal thoughts and feelings experienced by Behaviour Support Practitioners (BSPs) than typical, which has been a privilege for me to navigate with them. It almost always gets raised at some point, some sooner than others, and I get the lovely opportunity to be the one to say “Yes, it’s totally normal, and in fact it tells me something positive about you”.
This is one of the reasons I see supervision as more than simply reviewing whether you've completed the required tasks — it can provide a space to examine the uncertainty and professional judgement that sits underneath your practice.
How Can Imposter Syndrome Be a Positive?
You might’ve already guessed, but some degree of self-doubt can be useful when it prompts reflection, checking your work, seeking supervision and continuing to develop. It means it’s important to you to feel like you’re doing a good job, that you’re working within your scope, and that you’re skilled and knowledgeable enough to do this work.
It’s important to frame it this way because then it can almost become a source of pride. Doing this job well is so important to me that it’s challenging me to become better and really know what I’m doing!
I’ve had this conversation many times with people, especially after something stressful has happened.
What Triggers Imposter Syndrome within PBS?
In my experience supervising Behaviour Support Practitioners, imposter feelings are often triggered by ordinary but challenging parts of PBS practice. Some examples include:
Having to prepare the Functional Behaviour Assessment and feeling confused about conflicting results
Attending a stakeholders meeting and getting grilled about your strategies or approach
Joining a meeting or sending emails with multiple professionals who have intimidating titles and experience
Making a mistake in a conversation or in a report
Getting negative feedback on your Positive Behaviour Support Plan or other reports
Experiencing a lack of engagement from implementers
No one is filling out your Behaviour Recording (Universal experience, that one!)
Your strategies don’t seem to be working, or in fact, might be making things worse
If you've experienced some or all of the above, you're certainly not alone. These are experiences I regularly hear about from BSPs in Supervision.
When Imposter Syndrome Becomes a Detriment to Your Practice
Now this is where we need to be careful as a little bit of worry about not being good enough will drive you further to achieve more and become better. Too much and it can become paralysing. The important distinction is not whether you ever experience self-doubt, but whether those feelings begin to change how you practise.
If you start to see the following, it’s time to address your imposter syndrome:
Avoiding emails or phone calls because you’re worried about the negative things you’re imagining are going to be said (this goes further than the justifiable anxiety that comes from talking with a tricky stakeholder)
Avoiding finalising a document because you’re worried it won’t be perfect, it’s not professional enough, you’re concerned the feedback won’t be good, etc (different to perfectionism as the underlying anxiety about it not being good enough is where this is coming from)
Delaying or even missing meetings because you’re concerned you’ll receive negative feedback from others, won’t be able to answer a question, you don’t feel like you’re at the same level as others, or you’ll somehow otherwise be exposed as a fraud
Dwelling on a mistake or your perceived short comings for far too long, especially when it starts to become a frequent visitor in your mind
Taking things personally - e.g. they’re not filling out my Behaviour Recording because they don’t think I’m good at this job, when maybe, they’re not filling out your reports because the link is broken or it’s not clear when they need to complete it
Going too far in trying to prove yourself - though this can be beneficial at times (e.g. upskilling through study), it can lead to conducting excessive analysis, writing incredibly long reports, and eventually can result in fatigue and burnout
Overall, the above tends to start pretty minor with a few small, manageable things happening now and then or with a certain participant’s case. Then, if continual triggering of imposter syndrome occurs, this eventually takes this further to actively detract from the quality of the services you’re providing, which then deepens imposter syndrome causing a cycle.
How Can You Manage Imposter Syndrome in your Practice?
In my experience supporting BSPs, I would offer the following ideas for how to manage this as best as you can:
Reaching out to your Supervisor or Line Manager; use them early and often whenever something happens that stays on your mind. My rule is that if I’m still thinking about something the next day, it means I need to talk about it with someone I can trust.
If you can’t reach the above, leaning on your colleagues for support in these moments. I guarantee most of them have also felt the same way (or might be feeling it right now!). Opening up to your colleagues also shows them that it’s okay for them to feel these things too, and it can create a culture of sharing the tough times and helping each other get through. This team culture is actually incredibly important to your continued well-being as a BSP and I might write more about this in future for those wanting to become Team Leaders or Managers.
Access your Employee Assistance Program - usually these are anonymous and include a number of allocated sessions per year. These can be extended upon request but this can sometimes mean some identifying information about you is shared with someone at your organisation so make sure you’re okay with that first. Don’t feel shy about doing this though; I’ve leaned on this program before and also extended it when I was going through a tough time with work and my personal life. It really was an immense help to me and I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
I mentioned earlier that reframing is one of the ways I like to approach imposter syndrome. Weirdly enough, the anxiety about having imposter syndrome can almost be just as bad. So to remove the anxiety through reframing it as “this is normal, and in moderation, is good for your practice”, can take the pressure off feeling like you’re failing because you’re not confident right now.
As implied, normalising this experience is incredibly important. You are not alone in this. We’ve all been there, and we all continue to go there. We’re all continually cycling in and out of this experience as we have our highs and lows across time and cases. It is normal to experience this, and it isn’t a problem unless you try to shove it away in a corner and refuse to acknowledge its existence until it gets so bad you, or others, can’t ignore it.
As I’ve mentioned in another article, when I’m feeling a bit downtrodden or defeated as a BSP, I like to shuffle my calendar around to give myself a few days of tasks I know will energise me and help me feel more confident. So I do the tasks I know I’m good at, I have the meetings I know I’ll be well received, and I talk to my team because they give me immense joy and return me to my usual self.
I’d like to acknowledge that it’s a very vulnerable experience to open up to others about these things. We want to appear perfect, composed, confident, infallible! We’re professionals after all so we must know what we’re doing at all times. However, you and I know this is simply not the truth, because we’re also human. We make mistakes, we say the wrong thing or maybe didn’t speak up at all, we forget to do things, and can fail to meet expectations. This is simply the human experience.
Conclusion
I’ve tried many ways to avoid this experience over the years but have never managed to get there, and in fact, I would confidently say that I’m a better practitioner and have gone further in my career because of feeling inadequate and like an imposter at times. Every time I’ve been given more responsibility or a promotion, this feeling has arisen and it’s driven me to do better, to be mindful about what I’m doing, to double check things, to be compassionate towards others.
So imposter syndrome isn’t necessarily your enemy, it can be harnessed and used to propel you further. You just have to recognise when it’s starting to take the reins so you can take action. And again, to emphasise this, I would strongly recommend you to use your Supervisor when you’re starting to feel this way; let us help because that’s what we’re here for.
In Summary, What to Remember
Feeling out of your depth doesn’t automatically mean you are not competent.
Experienced PBS Practitioners can, and will, experience imposter feelings too.
Some self-doubt can prompt useful reflection and professional development.
Imposter syndrome feelings become more concerning when they begin to interfere with your practice.
Supervision is an appropriate place to talk through these experiences, in fact, one of the best places!
You don't have to work out whether you're “good enough” on your own. And if you’re reading this article, I already know you are.
Still looking for a supervisor?
If you'd like somewhere safe to talk through your practice, you can book a free 20-minute compatibility chat with Rebecca.
