For many high-achievers — from entrepreneurs to seasoned professionals — success doesn’t feel like success. Instead, it feels fragile, like any day now someone will discover they’re not as capable as they appear. This persistent self-doubt, despite evidence of skill and accomplishment, is known as imposter syndrome.

As a therapist who specializes in working with high-performing, career-focused adults, I see this pattern often. And for many, EMDR therapy offers a way to reprocess the deeply rooted beliefs that fuel imposter feelings, creating lasting change in both confidence and self-worth.

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What is Imposter Syndrome?

Originally identified in the late 1970s by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, imposter syndrome describes the internal experience of believing your success is undeserved — that it’s due to luck, timing, or others’ overestimation of your abilities.

Common symptoms include:

• Persistent self-doubt
• Fear of being “found out”
• Discounting achievements
• Believing success comes from external factors, not competence

While anyone can experience imposter syndrome, research shows it’s common among high-achieving women, minority groups, and professionals in competitive or male-dominated fields such as STEM. Entrepreneurs, too, are particularly vulnerable because their work is often tied closely to their personal identity and public reputation.

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Why High-Achievers Are at Risk

In my practice, I often see imposter syndrome coexisting with traits like relentless drive, perfectionism, and — interestingly — ADHD. Research has found higher rates of ADHD traits among entrepreneurs, partly because ADHD brains thrive on novelty, innovation, and calculated risk.

But ADHD can also come with a heavy side of shame. From childhood, many clients receive messages that their behaviors are “wrong” or “not good enough,” planting early seeds for the core beliefs that feed imposter feelings later in life. Over time, the need to prove themselves becomes a career driver — but it also creates constant pressure and emotional exhaustion.

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How EMDR Works for Imposter Syndrome

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is best known for treating trauma, but its reach extends to any maladaptive belief system rooted in past experiences.

Here’s how it applies to imposter syndrome:

1. Identifying the Core Belief
   Often, imposter feelings boil down to a core statement like “I’m not good enough” or “I’m a fraud.” Many clients logically know this belief isn’t true, but emotionally, it still drives their reactions.
2. The Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model
   EMDR is based on the idea that the brain naturally processes experiences in an adaptive way — unless an event overwhelms us. When that happens, the memory (and its related sensations, emotions, and beliefs) gets “stuck” in the nervous system. EMDR helps unlock and reprocess these stuck networks so new, adaptive information can take its place.
3. Bilateral Stimulation
   Through eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to connect the brain’s hemispheres. This allows old memories and beliefs to be reprocessed in a way that reduces their emotional charge.
4. Installing the Positive Belief
   The goal isn’t only to reduce the negative cognition; it’s to strengthen the positive one. For example, replacing “I’m not enough” with “I am competent and capable.”

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Why It Works

EMDR addresses imposter syndrome by altering the stored experiences and beliefs that keep self-doubt alive. Clients often notice they can approach new challenges without the same spike of anxiety, procrastination, or perfectionistic overdrive.

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A Self-Care Framework for High-Achievers

While EMDR targets the underlying beliefs, I also work with clients to create a personalized self-care plan that keeps them aligned with their values. This includes:

• Identifying times they’ve felt most “in alignment”
• Recognizing triggers for feeling out of sync
• Determining minimum and maximum levels of activities that keep them balanced
• Incorporating social, creative, and restorative practices

Self-care isn’t just about relaxation — it’s about creating the conditions where confidence can grow and imposter feelings have less space to thrive.

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Final Thoughts

If you’re a high-achiever who secretly feels like it’s just too hard and it’s not a life sentence. EMDR therapy can help you uncover and reprocess the experiences that shaped these beliefs, freeing you to own your success without constant self-questioning.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an academic, or a professional in a demanding field, healing the root of imposter syndrome can unlock both personal and professional growth.