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

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.