Impostor phenomenon and counselor development: The critical role of self‐compassion

Abstract

Self‐compassion is an important protective factor for managing and regulating complex emotions. This article reports on a study exploring the mediating effect of self‐compassion on the relationship between impostor phenomenon (IP) and counseling self‐efficacy (CSE) among 281 counselors‐in‐training (CITs). The most striking finding is that 65.1% of the counseling students reported frequent‐to‐intense IP. Furthermore, higher IP correlated with higher mental distress and lower CSE. Consistent with social learning theory, self‐compassion and the ability to self‐regulate physiological and affective states fully mediated the negative effect of IP on CSE, accounting for 60.9% of the variance. Implications address the alarming prevalence and severity of IP among CITs and the powerful role that self‐compassion may play in the professional development of CITs.