Download the show notes and full transcript of the conversation.
Have you ever thought, “I’m not good enough.” or “What if they find out I really don’t belong here because everyone else is better than me.”? Then this is the episode for you! Here, we talk about what Impostor Syndrome is, why it is so prevalent in our field, and the top mindsets and approaches to reduce your feelings of inadequacy and raise your level of confidence.
Discussion & Reflection Questions
- What is Impostor Syndrome?
- Why is it so prevalent in our field?
- Why is mindset so important when overcoming Impostor Syndrome?
- How do you overcome Impostor Syndrome?
- Who is driving the Impostor Syndrome bus?
- What words of advice would you give the mean girl about Impostor Syndrome?
“We do experience imposter syndrome. It just feels like something that walks with us, goes away, and revisits in a really ongoing way. So it’s a very real phenomenon for each of us.” – Janet Tilstra
Janet Tilstra, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor in Communication Sciences & Disorders at St. Cloud State University
Janet Tilstra is a teacher, mentor, connector of people, and fan of the arts. She works as an Associate professor in Communication Sciences & Disorders at St Cloud State University and consults with schools and community organizations to facilitate strategic planning, mentor teams in applied research, and structure important conversations.
Pre-2015, Janet practiced clinically as a speech-language pathologist, served as a Master Literacy Coach with Minnesota Reading Corps, and taught in the departments of psychology and education at the College of St Benedict. She loves nuanced conversations, reading books with great character development, kayaking, all things music, and winning board games. Janet lives along the Mississippi River in Minnesota with her husband and two cats. She strives to think like a scientist, foster potential in others, live a balanced life, and make the world a little bit better.
“So if we can pause, name, acknowledge that it’s there, but also kind of put it down. It doesn’t have to be at the forefront of our minds. It doesn’t have to be the driver. And what do we replace that with? We replace what’s happening in the present moment.”
– Katie Widestrom-Landgraf
Katie Widestrom-Landgraf, MS, CCC-SLP
School Speech-Language Pathologist
Katie is a speech-language pathologist who has worked in both medical and educational settings for over 20 years. She presently works with adolescents in a large suburban high school. Katie is a past president of the Minnesota Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MNSHA). She has collaborated with the MN Dept. of Education to expand the understanding of oral language as a critical neurodevelopmental infrastructure for academic achievement processes. She is most passionate about helping students develop their language skills as a tool for thought, wonderment, questioning, and
curiosity…and of course communication. When Katie is not working with the students on her caseload, she is still working with students to develop their communication and self-expression as a high school forensics coach. Katie enjoys great conversations and connections where one loses a sense of time, fabulous dining experiences, transcendent cups of coffee, and books that are so good she negotiates with her alarm clock so that she might finish just one more chapter.
“Sometimes the situation [Impostor Syndrome] is a valid feeling and sometimes it’s not.”
Mattie Murrey Tegel, MA, CCC-SLP, L, CPC, CLSC
Medical Speech-Language Pathologist and Founder of Fresh SLP
Mattie Murrey-Tegels is the founder and SLP behind Fresh SLP and The Missing Link for SLPs Podcast. She’s been “in-the-trenches” as a medical SLP around the world for over 25 years and now an Assistant Professor for 3 years. She is thrilled to be adding this dream of a podcast because paying her experiences forward is something she is very passionate about. If you ask her patients and students, one thing they will remember is how much she loves her job! She may not look like it but she is a huge introvert and when she is not actively working as an SLP, she is almost always reading, writing (writing over 1,000,000 words a year), or listening to amazing Chicago Blues bands. She also loves being outdoors and definitely enjoys soaking up the sun at her home in Minnesota, where warm and sunny days can be limited. She’s ridden motorcycles for many years, raced sled dogs, hiked huge mountains yet she cherishes the quiet moments of climbing into a hammock to nap or timeless conversations with friends and family.
The Missing Link for SLPs podcast and Fresh SLP is her legacy, giving back to a career that has so richly rewarded her.
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Not a substitute for a formal SLP education or medical advice for patients/caregivers.
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