Goal-Setting as PhD Student

[AryaOfWinterfell]

Hi All -

I am currently in a clinical psych PhD program. After being here for a while, I love my program and I think it's the perfect fit. However, I'm getting hit pretty hard with the notorious "Imposter Syndrome." I constantly feel like I am not involved in interesting projects like everyone else, and that they made a mistake in accepting me and are just waiting for me to fail (which I will inevitably do). I know that this is imposter syndrome and not necessarily true, and I'm getting better at warding it off.

However, It's significantly impaired my ability to goal-set and has me second-guessing everything I do. Does anyone have any tips on how to set short-term goals? I have my larger career goals set, but I would like to work on my ability to set goals like "things I'd like to accomplish this semester." I think it's a dangerous spiral of letting imposter syndrome get to me, failing to set goals, getting upset when I don't accomplish them, and then the cycle resets.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance!

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[Fan_of_Meehl]

Maybe I'm missing the mark with this comment but if you love your program and think that it's a perfect fit then how can you be an imposter? It would seem to me that what you describe is the opposite of an 'imposter.'

As far as the goal-setting, second-guessing, and self-disappointment...you may be over-thinking/judging things a bit .
As long as you are making progress toward your degree and getting the experience (clinical and/or research-related) that will set you up for the next stage in your professional journey then things should work out. The compulsion to try to worry every little thread of your existence into a 'golden braid' in real time as your life is happening to you strikes me as a recipe for misery...guaranteed. As long as you are keeping on track professionally enough to ensure that you graduate and get the skills and knowledge you need to move on to the next phase of your career this is probably about the best you can do in terms of trying to set yourself up for future success. Stop trying so hard to make 'all the right decisions' or 'all the right moves.' Sometimes your destiny finds you rather than the other way around. Three years ago a few of my colleagues were 'forced out' (via some sneaky/nasty political maneuvering) from our positions at a state hospital. This 'forced' me to get out of my comfort zone and look for a different position, which I was able to transition smoothly into with ease. Best career move I have made so far. At the time it felt like a tragedy. Again, sometimes your destiny finds you and you don't even know what will necessarily make you happy until you get there.

 

[deleted343839]

Feeling like an imposter is very common. I've struggled with it my entire career. I've found it most helpful to be at peace with the fact that it's not going away easily and in the meantime try my best to do what I need to do anyway. In the worst case scenario, I'll have still done a lot by the time I'm "found out." Though my fear of being "found out" has diminished greatly over time, I never found it all that useful to try to persuade myself that I "belong" here or that "I'm worth it." I've just learned to live with some degree of nagging self-doubt and still do my thing. Very ACT of me, eh?

Kudos to you for focusing on short-term goals. Those accomplishments will likely take the edge off your imposter woes. One book that helped me set goals in graduate school was Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Masters or a Ph.D. by Robert Peters. If your goals include an academic career, you might also peruse Karen Kelsky's new book The Professor Is In - a bit more forward-looking but much of her advice is still actionable for a graduate student.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I've just learned to live with some degree of nagging self-doubt and still do my thing. Very ACT of me, eh?

A bit of anxiety can be motivating and a good thing…or so says the research. I view some of those small doubts as a way to ensure I don't become complacent and produce less than quality reports/etc. Figuring some of this out during graduate training would be ideal, as "impostor syndrome" is not just restricted to graduate training, as many/most people feel it when they are newly licensed.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I still feel that way some days. Learning how to cope with stress in adaptive ways is an important and sometimes overlooked aspect of a psychologist's professional development. I lost a client last week because they "chose a different direction" and some of my thoughts were that all of my clients were going to stop coming and I'll be sitting in an empty office waiting for disability evaluation patients to not show up. Yesterday, I had a full schedule and they all showed up needing and wanting psychological help. Then I have thoughts that every day will be like that and I will make a gazillion dollars. I also think ACT can be helpful for these types of irrational thoughts. I just watch them go by like leaves in a stream. It helps to keep me more emotionally stable than my patients to not pay too much heed to emotionally driven thoughts.

 

[AryaOfWinterfell]

Hey everyone -

Thank you all for your great advice and insight! @MamaPhD thank you for your book suggestions, they've gone right on my Amazon wish list
I was speaking to my advisor about imposter syndrome and he said that even though he is accomplished in his field, he still feels sometimes that people are going to "find him out."

I guess a lot of my problems have been coming from overthinking things. At some point I have to just trust that I'm where I'm meant to be because I am qualified to be here, and defer to that work ethic to get done what needs to be done.

Again, thanks everyone! I really appreciate the support!

 

[cara susanna]

I have really bad imposter syndrome as a new post doc! I actually think it's worse than what I had as a grad student or intern, because now I think expectations are higher.

 

[Ollie123]

I have really bad imposter syndrome as a new post doc! I actually think it's worse than what I had as a grad student or intern, because now I think expectations are higher.

You and me both! The nature of my appointment makes it easier to draw comparisons to long-term faculty/staff rather than true peers, which doesn't help in the slightest. Also - I'm seeing a higher education/SES population for the first time in my career. Makes it WAY harder to stay one step ahead of my patients when they are actually doing the homework, reviewing workbooks on their own, requesting additional readings, etc. which hasn't done wonders for my confidence as a clinician.

 

[cara susanna]

Had to share this!

http://www.theonion.com/article/report-today-the-day-they-find-out-youre-a-fraud-35133