The Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Self-efficacy, Burnout, and Perfectionism of Employees with Imposter Syndrome

One of the problems in the way to success is behaviors within the framework of imposter syndrome (IS). The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on self-efficacy, burnout, and perfectionism of employees with IS. This randomized trial employed a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of employees from private offices in five districts of Tehran in 2019. The study participants were comprised of 40 employees who were selected through purposeful sampling and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The data collection tools included questionnaires on IS, general self-efficacy, job burnout, and perfectionism. While the control group received no intervention, the experimental group underwent ten 90-minute schema therapy sessions. The data obtained were ultimately analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance via SPSS 24. According to the findings, schema therapy significantly increased self-efficacy (P < 0.01, F = 37.73) and decreased emotional exhaustion (P < 0.01, F = 30.08), depersonalization (P < 0.01, F = 71.63), low personal accomplishment (P < 0.01, F = 65.58), self-oriented perfectionism (P < 0.01, F = 44.28), other-oriented perfectionism (P < 0.01, F = 57.36), and society-oriented perfectionism (P < 0.01, F = 50.46) among employees with IS (P < 0.001). Considering that employees’ performance and progress are of special importance to office managers, examining the psychological dimensions of employees to reduce IS and strengthen the sense of self-efficacy is of great importance.