Have you ever sat in front of blank computer screen, stuck about how to describe yourself in a directory profile entry? You doubt whether you've got anything unique to offer and worry you'll mislead clients if you claim any special expertise. In this episode, Josephine Hughes discusses how imposter syndrome hinders therapists from writing effective profiles, and offers practical tips to make directories appeal to potential clients. By embracing their experiences and asserting their value, therapists can create profiles that truly connect with potential clients and reflect their authentic selves.

In today's episode:

• How imposter syndrome often leads therapists to feel unworthy and hesitant to market themselves effectively.
• The impact of sharing your personal journey as a therapist to build trust with potential clients.
• Whether niching down in your practice is appropriate at the start of your private practice career
• The dangers of mimicking other therapists' profiles because authenticity is crucial for connecting with clients.
• How to state you can help clients without feeling pushy or salesy.
• A reframe about the purpose of your profile and how that helps with imposter syndrome.

Keywords

Impostor Syndrome, therapists, directory profiles, self-doubt, qualifications, niching, client connection, marketing, therapy, personal branding, psychology today, counselling directory

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Impostor Syndrome in Therapy Marketing

04:06 The Impact of Qualifications on Client Perception

07:58 Overcoming the Fear of Niching

10:53 Claiming Your Expertise and Value

14:50 Practical Tips for Writing Your Profile

To access Josephine's Make Your Profile Work training, please click HERE to join Therapy Growth Group

Setting up in private practice? Download my free checklist HERE

Need ideas for how to get clients? Download my free handout 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients HERE

You can also find me here:

The Good Enough Counsellors Facebook Group

Josephine Hughes on Facebook

Josephine Hughes on YouTube

My website: josephinehughes.com

The information contained in Good Enough Counsellors is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this podcast are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this podcast. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this podcast.

Josephine Hughes disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this podcast.

Josephine Hughes: 00:00:01

Have you ever sat in front of a blank computer screen desperately trying to write your directory profile and feeling completely stuck?

Josephine Hughes: 00:00:10

You wonder what on earth you can say to tell potential clients about your private practice.

Josephine Hughes: 00:00:16

You sit there thinking you've got no ideas or you're not very good at writing.

Josephine Hughes: 00:00:22

But another factor may be in play and that imposter syndrome, which is what we're going to be talking about in today's episode.

Josephine Hughes: 00:00:40

Welcome to the Good Enough Counsellors podcast.

Josephine Hughes: 00:00:43

I'm Josephine Hughes, and today's episode is all about how imposter syndrome affects therapists who are writing their directory profiles.

Josephine Hughes: 00:00:52

You might be surprised how common this is amongst the many counsellors I work with, but it's holding you back from attracting the clients you want to help.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:03

So today we're going to look at how imposter syndrome shows up when you're writing your profile and what to do about it, together with some practical tips on how to improve what you're actually saying.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:17

Let's return to that blank computer screen.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:21

If you're sitting there feeling clueless, you'll probably do a number of things.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:27

First of all, complete avoidance by distracting yourself with social media or a Spotify playlist.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:34

Maybe you'll find that CPD recording you've been meaning to watch for ages.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:39

After all, you tell yourself it won't do any harm to know a bit more about how to work with clients.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:46

Conveniently ignore the fact that you haven't actually got any clients who need this at the moment.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:52

Another thing you might do is consult AI, artificial intelligence.

Josephine Hughes: 00:01:57

But even though it tells you what to say, you're really not sure because it doesn't really sound like you.

Josephine Hughes: 00:02:04

And isn't it a bit pushy to say things like that?

Josephine Hughes: 00:02:07

After all, you don't want to be too persuasive.

Josephine Hughes: 00:02:11

You want to respect client's autonomy.

Josephine Hughes: 00:02:14

You maybe hesitate over it and then decide.

Josephine Hughes: 00:02:17

You'll consult your ethical framework or your supervisor before making a decision.

Josephine Hughes: 00:02:23

Alternatively, in the search for ideas, you'll look at what other therapists are saying in their profiles and you can literally feel your heart sinking as you read because they all sound so put together, so qualified, so knowledgeable, with so much experience, how can you possibly compete with them?

Josephine Hughes: 00:02:50

Is it worth even trying?

Josephine Hughes: 00:02:53

Your foray into the world of profile writing comes to an abrupt halt and you slink away, too ashamed to admit to anyone that you haven't been able to write it or update it.

Josephine Hughes: 00:03:10

And as I mentioned in last week's episode on Imposter syndrome and social media shame thrives on secrecy.

Josephine Hughes: 00:03:19

So what I want to tell you is that you're not alone in these feelings.

Josephine Hughes: 00:03:25

How do I know?

Josephine Hughes: 00:03:26

Because I work day in, day out with counsellors who are working on their marketing, and I know they find it really, really hard.

Josephine Hughes: 00:03:37

We have a lot of questions that come up, but they all have an underlying theme and that is not feeling good enough.

Josephine Hughes: 00:03:48

Imposter syndrome is that feeling of being a fake, of not being smart enough and not deserving to be here.

Josephine Hughes: 00:03:56

People with imposter syndrome often try to resolve their feelings by working harder to prove that they are good enough.

Josephine Hughes: 00:04:05

Yet they don't attribute their success to their work and abilities, they attribute it to luck.

Josephine Hughes: 00:04:13

Imposter syndrome can make you doubt your experience and undervalue your strengths, and it makes it particularly difficult to promote yourself in your marketing.

Josephine Hughes: 00:04:25

Let's have a look at how imposter syndrome can show up in directory writing have you ever noticed that people list all their qualifications, even the two hour afternoon workshop?

Josephine Hughes: 00:04:38

But how much time do you spend reading the list?

Josephine Hughes: 00:04:42

If you're looking for a therapist?

Josephine Hughes: 00:04:43

Indeed, is that the most important thing you look for?

Josephine Hughes: 00:04:47

Yes, it's helpful to check out that your therapist is adequately qualified, but people may well assume that you are both from your membership of a professional association and your presence on a directory in the first place.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:02

And while qualifications can provide reassurance, they may also create distance because they confer an aura of expertise that clients find intimidating.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:14

It begs the who is this list of qualifications for?

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:19

Is it for clients or is it to prove that you do actually belong?

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:25

When you're feeling like you need to prove yourself, you may well hide behind your qualifications.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:31

It's like you're saying, look at my credentials.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:34

I am allowed to be here, but clients are looking for connection, not certificates.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:40

Here's my first practical tip.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:43

Rather than focusing on your qualifications, share your passion for therapy.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:48

Tell your story about why you're a therapist.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:51

It will help to build trust.

Josephine Hughes: 00:05:54

Another way that impostor syndrome can show up is in the vexed subject of niching.

Josephine Hughes: 00:06:01

I'm increasingly seeing posts in therapist groups about this, and I've noticed there are myths and misunderstandings circulating on social media.

Josephine Hughes: 00:06:11

One of them is that you have to have a lot of experience to have a niche.

Josephine Hughes: 00:06:16

If you have imposter syndrome, this belief is going to stop you in your tracks and you'll never specialise.

Josephine Hughes: 00:06:23

You'll always believe you need to know that little bit more before you can say that this is your specialism.

Josephine Hughes: 00:06:32

And yet the opposite is true.

Josephine Hughes: 00:06:34

It's by niching that you actually gain that extra experience.

Josephine Hughes: 00:06:39

Choosing a niche at an early stage of your career means you can focus your efforts on building knowledge of a particular client group, both by working with them and having focused CPD.

Josephine Hughes: 00:06:51

An example of someone who has done this from an early stage of their career is my client, Chloe Foster of Sussex Rainbow Counselling.

Josephine Hughes: 00:07:00

Listen to Chloe describing the success of her LGBTQ niche in episode 27 of the Good Enough Counsellors podcast and she tells you how she's been able to expand her niche to create extra income for her business.

Josephine Hughes: 00:07:14

If you feel you don't know enough to specialise, it's going to lead to a profile where you try to appeal to everyone and that won't grab anyone's attention.

Josephine Hughes: 00:07:26

So here's my second practical reframe the idea of niching from being an expert to being someone with an interest in working with clients in this area.

Josephine Hughes: 00:07:40

Think of it as a way to make your profile stand out to those clients, because a focus profile is more likely to attract those people who will truly benefit from working with you.

Josephine Hughes: 00:07:53

Alongside the fear of niching is the fear of judgment.

Josephine Hughes: 00:07:58

You question whether you're qualified enough to highlight certain skills or experience.

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:03

What if you say something and someone questions it?

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:07

Or despite your knowledge and training, you worry that you'll get it wrong because you don't believe in yourself.

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:14

As a result, you may hedge your bets.

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:17

In other words, you avoid being specific and you try to appeal to everyone.

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:22

You don't feel confident enough to claim your expertise.

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:26

You downplay your skills and you minimise your training and experience by being vague.

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:32

You think you're protecting yourself from criticism when in fact you're writing a profile that's so bland it's likely to fail.

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:41

In this way, you sabotage yourself and sadly prove the truth in inverted commas that you don't belong.

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:50

And have you ever done this?

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:52

Looked at other people's profiles and mimicked what they've said?

Josephine Hughes: 00:08:57

When you're experiencing self doubt, you may look to others for inspiration and use their ideas.

Josephine Hughes: 00:09:03

The problem with this, apart from the copyright implications, is that sounding like someone else means potential clients won't get to know the real you.

Josephine Hughes: 00:09:13

They'll only be disappointed if they make a booking and you're different to what you projected.

Josephine Hughes: 00:09:20

If you mimic others, your profile may well end up sounding generic and similar to others and lead to few bookings.

Josephine Hughes: 00:09:29

Practical tip number three be clear about how you can help and what sets you apart.

Josephine Hughes: 00:09:37

Personalise your profile by sharing your interest in certain areas of therapy.

Josephine Hughes: 00:09:43

Impostor syndrome can also leak into the words and phrases you choose to use.

Josephine Hughes: 00:09:49

I think there's often a reluctance within us to make claims about our client work.

Josephine Hughes: 00:09:55

We respect that clients are the ones that choose to change, and the results that we see are due to their individual courage.

Josephine Hughes: 00:10:04

We know that an approach that works with one client may not work with another.

Josephine Hughes: 00:10:09

We're aware of our duty of candor towards clients.

Josephine Hughes: 00:10:13

As a result, we're hesitant to represent what we offer as a cast iron guarantee.

Josephine Hughes: 00:10:20

However, that can become muddled by imposter syndrome and lead to a reluctance to make clear statements.

Josephine Hughes: 00:10:27

For example, you'll I aim to help or I aim to support rather than I help or I support.

Josephine Hughes: 00:10:36

This creates uncertainty for the person reading can you help them or not?

Josephine Hughes: 00:10:42

Practical tip number four it's going to feel uncomfortable, but it's time to claim the difference you make to clients lives.

Josephine Hughes: 00:10:52

Yes, they're the ones who choose to change, but you're the one who, with skilled listening, facilitates that change.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:01

After all, if you really didn't do anything, why do we bother having a counselling profession at all?

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:08

Why bother training?

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:09

Why bother advertising?

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:12

The truth is, you do make a difference.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:16

Make a list of the clients you've helped.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:19

Keep a record of the comments when they've thanked you.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:22

Listen when they tell you that counseling has been life changing and practice confident language in your profile.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:30

Say things like, I help clients or I specialize in.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:36

Now, I can't imagine what you're thinking in response to this.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:40

You're concerned that you may sound too pushy and salesy.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:46

I heard a great conversation on the rest is politics us podcast the other day.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:51

In case you haven't listened to it, the presenters are an english journalist, Katie K.

Josephine Hughes: 00:11:56

And an American, Anthony Scaramucci, otherwise known as the Mooch.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:02

When Kay invited listeners to buy tickets to an event with a typical british understatement, you may like to visit our website.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:10

The mooch immediately picked her up on it.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:13

You're so british, he said.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:15

An American would say, get on down there and grab your tickets while you can.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:21

We're a lot less brash than that in selling our counselling services.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:25

In fact, I even hesitate to say selling because that in itself can feel deeply uncomfortable to us.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:33

Therapists and many counsellors who are also introverts hate to draw attention to themselves.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:39

They find smoking statements in profiles frustrating because these lack depth and anything that smacks of selling feels in direct opposition to client autonomy.

Josephine Hughes: 00:12:52

Add impostor syndrome into this mix and therapists shy away from stating their strengths and helping clients understand the value of what they provide to.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:02

But that's such a shame.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:04

Potential clients need to know that counselling will help them.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:09

By hiding, you're doing them a disservice.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:12

You're preventing them from accessing the help that could literally change their lives.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:20

Perhaps the Americans have got something to teach us.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:23

Being direct can help people to make decisions and not miss out.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:28

Practical tip number five offer yourself this reframe.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:34

You're not selling.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:35

You're helping.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:37

You're helping someone who is looking for support to find the right therapist.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:43

If you're clear about what you do, that will give them the opportunity to choose and make a decision.

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:51

How can people choose a therapist from limited information and profiles that all sound the same?

Josephine Hughes: 00:13:58

Remember, by telling them about your service, you're actually increasing their ability to make an autonomous choice.

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:09

When I published gloriously unready, my podcast about being the mum of transgender kids, I was full of self doubt.

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:16

What would people think had I got it wrong?

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:20

But what really helped me was remembering that I was speaking from my experience.

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:26

People can't argue with your experience of life.

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:30

This thought may really help you as you write your profile.

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:34

Speak from your experience.

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:37

Share what is true for you and the difference it has made for clients.

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:42

Write as if you were speaking to a potential client in a session on how you can help be you, because clients are looking for someone who is human.

Josephine Hughes: 00:14:55

However, the act of sharing yourself online is really scary, particularly if you feel like an imposter.

Josephine Hughes: 00:15:03

And the answer is, as I shared last week, is to douse the shame with empathy.

Josephine Hughes: 00:15:10

And this is where I can help you with my make your profile work training.

Josephine Hughes: 00:15:14

October: 2024

Josephine Hughes: 00:15:33

There's nothing like being part of a group of people who are experiencing the same doubts and fears of yourself.

Josephine Hughes: 00:15:40

It helps to normalize your experience and helps you to know that you're not alone.

Josephine Hughes: 00:15:47

During the course of the week, you'll have the chance to draft the main elements of your profile and I provide directions and feedback so that you can make it speak to the people you'd love to work with.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:01

I'd love you to join me, which you can do by becoming part of therapy growth group.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:06

It costs 50 pounds for a month's membership and you'll definitely get more than 50 pounds of value because you'll also be able to listen to all my exclusive training while you're there.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:18

Now you've listened to this episode, why not review your profile in the light of what you've learned?

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:23

Take a look at whether you're being too general and minimising what you do.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:29

Are you shying away from telling people about the work you really love to do?

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:35

Remember, use that reframe that.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:37

You're not being salesy.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:39

You're serving clients by helping them make a decision.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:43

You're speaking from your experience.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:46

Remember, you've put in all those years of study and hours of sitting and listening.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:53

You are good enough.

Josephine Hughes: 00:16:55

In closing, I'd like to share an affirmation from Denise Duffield Thomas, the money coach.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:00

This affirmation helps your brain to focus on the positive rather than the fear.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:07

Say after me, it's my time and I'm ready for the next step.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:13

I hope your next step is working more closely with me.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:17

Just go along to josephinehuges.com workwithme and get booked in for your make your profile work by joining therapy Growth group.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:29

Thanks for listening.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:31

Do come and join my Facebook community.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:34

Good enough counsellors.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:35

And for more information about how I can help you develop your private practice, please visit my website, josephinehughes.com.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:44

if you found this episode helpful, I'd love it if you could share it with a fellow therapist or leave a review on your podcast app.

Josephine Hughes: 00:17:52

And in closing, I'd love to remind you that every single step you make gets you closer to your dream.

Josephine Hughes: 00:18:01

I really believe you can do it.