As if life isn't hard enough; who needs perfection to ruin the decent? There is a cruelty to perfectionism. It takes something that could be enjoyed, even celebrated, and turns it into failure.
Some folks fear they are going to be asked to hate their parents by their therapist. In a world where we agree it is good to move on, let go of the past, and live in the present, it can seem contradictory that therapists as interested in our childhood.
But to move on first requires that we understand our injuries and suffering. We need to access what we did and didn’t get in childhood. The goal is not because parents are to blame, but simply to understand our experience.
Smith is and analytically oriented psychotherapist with 25 years in practice. She is additional the Founder/Director of Full Living: A Psychotherapy Practice, which specializes in matching clients with seasoned clinicians in the Greater Philadelphia Area.
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I never imagined myself a perfectionist.