The Therapist’s Inner Critic: Not on the Client List but Always in the Room

Most therapists are very good at helping clients challenge self-doubt, yet many of us walk into sessions carrying quiet but powerful expectations about ourselves, about getting it right, not letting people down and feeling responsible for how sessions go. These expectations can shape how safe, calm and confident we feel in the room, often without us realising it.

This talk will explore how many of these professional rules were learned earlier in life as sensible ways to try hard and do well, and how our nervous system can continue to apply those habits to our work long after they are needed. When the inner critic becomes active, the nervous system listens to that message and responds, not always in the most helpful way.

The presentation will examine how this internal state does not always remain contained within the therapist. Nervous systems are highly responsive to one another, and subtle shifts in tone, pace, and presence can communicate safety or urgency to clients, sometimes before any technique is used. In this way, therapy becomes not only a conversation between minds but a meeting between two nervous systems that influence each other.

The presentation will demonstrate how small internal shifts can update old habits and support calmer, more connected and more effective therapeutic work.

Marie is an integrative psychotherapist with hypnosis at the core of her work. She has a strong interest in how internal self-talk shapes confidence, motivation and behaviour. Earlier in her career, she recognised that imposter-style thinking was limiting her own professional confidence and addressed the underlying patterns driving it. This work strengthened her clinical effectiveness and contributed to the growth of her practice. Marie now brings this understanding into her work, supporting meaningful and lasting change.