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Article review 12 March 2026

Себастьян Саликру: популярные советы против синдрома самозванца дают временный эффект, если не затрагивать глубинные схемы

Sebastian Salicru: Popular Impostor Syndrome Advice Has Only Temporary Effect If Deep Schemas Stay Untouched

Sebastián Salicru: Los consejos populares contra el síndrome del impostor solo dan un efecto temporal si no se abordan los esquemas profundos

In his Psychology Today article, psychologist and psychotherapist Sebastian Salicru explains why standard impostor-syndrome advice often fails to produce lasting change. Estimates suggest this pattern affects up to 80% of people, yet common strategies—from celebrating wins to practicing self-compassion—usually remain surface-level.

His core argument: durable progress is impossible without addressing early beliefs that create a psychological “immunity” to change. These unconscious mechanisms pull people back to “I’m not good enough,” even when objective outcomes suggest otherwise.

Salicru proposes combining two evidence-based frameworks: schema therapy and Harvard’s Immunity to Change model by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey. In this view, the issue is not weak willpower but a protective system guarding against anticipated costs of success—shame, rejection, or disappointment.

This emotional immune system is sustained by hidden competing commitments and “big assumptions” about self and safety. Clinically, these dynamics strongly overlap with early maladaptive schemas, which shape how people process experience and discount their own achievements.

Practical takeaway: work on impostor syndrome should move beyond motivational self-talk toward deep restructuring of internal safety rules. Lasting change requires identifying and deactivating the protective mechanisms that keep the impostor cycle alive.

Sebastian Salicru

Psychologist and psychotherapist

Psychologist and psychotherapist focused on personal change mechanisms, leadership, and professional resilience.

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