Understanding the experience of the Impostor Phenomenon amongst trainee Clinical Psychologists: A qualitative analysis
Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Aims: The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) describes an internal experience of intellectual phoniness. Despite objective evidence substantiating their success, individuals with IP doubt their competence and possess a deep-rooted fear of being exposed as a fraud. Importantly, IP has been associated with deleterious mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression and burnout. This study aimed to qualitatively explore how trainee Clinical Psychologists understand their experiences of the Impostor Phenomenon (IP), with consideration of its impact, development and maintenance. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 trainee Clinical Psychologists studying and working across 10 UK higher education institutions and NHS trusts. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: The study identified a total of five themes and 13 subthemes: embodied fraudulence (the relentless voice of doubt; rejecting the authentic self; external expressions of internal doubt); a distorted cognitive lens (externalising success; discounting praise, dwelling on criticism; chasing perfection, running from failure); relational (dis)connection (feeling inferior through upwards comparison; comfort in common ground); the foundations of felt fraudulence (shaped by identity, defined by doubt; internalising familial expectations); and shaped by the system (institutional influences on insecurity; the influential impact of course staff and supervisors; fuelled by the field). Conclusions: This is the first study exploring the experience of IP among UK trainee Clinical Psychologists. The study demonstrates IP to be a pervasive issue for this group, with significant emotional, behavioural, cognitive and relational impacts. Though experienced on an individual level, IP in this context is systemically driven. The clinical and research implications of the findings are discussed.
Author: Horsley, Evie
Institution: University College London
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7126342644