Perfectionism can look like high achievement — but feel like constant pressure. You may set impossibly high standards, struggle to rest, fear making mistakes, or feel that your worth depends on performance.
Perfectionism is often driven by anxiety, attachment wounds, and protective strategies that once helped you succeed — but now leave you exhausted.
In therapy, we will:
- Use CBT to challenge rigid standards and all-or-nothing thinking.
- Apply narrative therapy to examine the story of who you “have to be” and reconnect you with your values instead of fear.
- Explore attachment patterns that may link love, approval, or safety with achievement.
- Incorporate solution-focused strategies to help you experiment with sustainable change rather than drastic self-overhauls.
- Develop self-compassion as a practical skill — not just a concept — so your motivation comes from care rather than criticism.
- Use EMDR when perfectionism is rooted in formative experiences of shame, criticism, or conditional acceptance.
The goal is not to lower your ambition — it’s to help you pursue excellence without sacrificing your wellbeing.