This informal CPD article ‘IEMT and Imposter Syndrome’ was provided by Kaye Woodgate on behalf of The Association for IEMT Practitioners, an organisation representing practitioners in the developing area of Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT) that maintain professional standards, sets ethical guidelines, and offer CPD training.
Anxiety affects a lot of people and demographically, it is the most common mental health problem. Much research has been done on just how wide-spread this problem is. According to large-scale studies, the lifetime prevalence of anxiety is over 33% of the general population.
Whilst anxiety disorders are well-studied and classified, a challenge that a lot of people experience - and which does not fall neatly into existing classifications as it tends to be more of an associated problem - is the Imposter syndrome.
What is Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome was first described in the 1970s. It can affect high achievers, self-employed people, or those in the public eye. It is a form of intellectual self-doubt, where sufferers have a gnawing sense that their success is somehow undeserved. They feel like a fraud, worry that they might get exposed, and can’t truly enjoy their achievements. Left unchecked, these feelings can lead to a decrease in job performance and a risk of overwhelm or burnout.
People with Imposter syndrome very often have increased anxiety or even depression. It also follows that sufferers often do not seek help as they are concerned about revealing their internal struggles fearing “being found out”.
These troubling feelings can be very deep-seated and often stem from childhood experiences. A rapid therapy technique known as Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT) offers an effective way of dealing with Imposter syndrome alongside helping address underlying anxiety feelings.
How can IEMT help?
IEMT is a brainchild of therapist Andrew Austin, who now offers courses teaching his method to other therapists. Central to IEMT is the view of a person as a dynamic being in constant interaction with the changing environment. Some of the adaptations people make may bring about unintended negative consequences and can thus be seen as maladaptive.
The techniques used in IEMT are aimed at understanding how the client learned to FEEL the way they do about whatever troubles them, and how they learned to BE the way they are. Therapists then help bring about a turnaround in maladaptive responses towards more appropriate and beneficial reactions. This happens by identifying triggers for the maladaptive responses, and asking the client to do certain simple eye movements whilst thinking of those. These eye movements result in the trigger situation appearing more distant or unimportant in the client’s mind, helping to dissipate the associated emotional load.
The process helps bring about lasting emotional change – but not only that. Emotions are expressions of identity challenges. With IEMT, therapists have the tools to look at deep-seated identity patterns, and help promote the shifts towards the positive expressions of people’s personalities. This can truly help Imposter syndrome sufferers who struggle to see what their real “I” is, and misinterpret how the others see them, with resulting anxiety and frustration ensuing.
Background of IEMT
As well as being an effective tool of dealing with anxiety, IEMT helps with many other matters such as post-traumatic stress disorder, self-esteem matters, and phobias. IEMT draws on other techniques such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) by psychologists like Francine Shapiro and Identity work by David Grove and puts these together in a powerful way to change the neurological imprinting of past events.
We hope this article was helpful. For more information from The Association for IEMT Practitioners, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively, you can go to the CPD Industry Hubs for more articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.
