Each year, thousands of distressed doctors reach out to doctors’ health services around the country for help. Here, GP and doctors’ health service counsellor Dr Craig Lilienthal dissects a common cause of anguish — impostor syndrome.

While counselling callers, panel doctors working for doctors’ health services often recognise that many distressed young doctors are suffering from impostor syndrome.

This becomes apparent when the caller expresses feelings of inadequacy when realising they are not coping, have screwed something up, or sadly, after being berated by a senior colleague.

The University of New England in NSW defines impostor syndrome as a psychological experience where high achievers doubt their abilities, feel like frauds, and fear being ‘found out’ despite evidence of success.