Overcoming Perfectionism

We live in a culture that emphasizes being perfect as a virtue in everything from body image to relationships to career achievements. The problem is that life and being human, in spite of our best efforts, is messier than this. Having high standards is one thing, but taking a perfectionistic approach to life can actually get in the way of your success.

Striving for perfect often involves chronically doubting or second-guessing yourself, being relentlessly hard on yourself (or others), and never feeling like you quite "make it." For graduate students, this often translates into chronic procrastination, late assignments, strain on peer and supervisory relationships, and never feeling like you are "good enough."

This workshop will introduce participants to some of the concepts that drive perfectionism so that they may have a better understanding of what is going on as well as provide strategies to manage the challenging parts that arise.

Facilitator 

Alex Abdel-Malek, MSW, RCC, is a professional therapist and instructor devoted to understanding how meaningful choices affect our health and wellbeing. In addition to teaching counselling skills at a university level, Alex is a regular contributor to programs and courses at the UBC Life and Career Centre, teaching popular courses such as Overcoming Perfectionism and Breaking Patterns of Procrastination.