Therapy for Perfectionism
For high performers who can’t turn their minds off — therapy for perfectionism helps you break the cycle of overthinking and burnout.
Therapy for Perfectionism: Finding Rest When You’re Tired of Trying So Hard
You can’t stop thinking about that meeting yesterday. You keep replaying one sentence you said, over and over again, like your brain is stuck on a loop. You wonder if you sounded confident enough, too blunt, or just not clear. Everyone else seems to have moved on, but your mind won’t let it go. It follows you through the day, into the evening, and even on the drive home. The worry sits in your body until it makes you feel sick, the tension tightening in your stomach.
When you finally get home, all you can do is sink into the couch and scroll through your feed, even though it only makes you feel worse. The endless posts about productivity and optimization remind you that you could be doing more. It feels like the world is telling you that rest has to be earned.
You’re exhausted by how much you second-guess yourself. Even small things, like how you word an email or how fast you reply, become proof that you might not be enough. You tell yourself it’s about doing a good job, but underneath, you know it’s about trying to prove you are good enough, that you won’t mess up or disappoint anyone.
You hold yourself to standards no one else even knows exist. When you do something 95 percent right, your mind zooms in on the 5 percent that wasn’t perfect. When someone compliments you, you brush it off because you can always think of what you could’ve done better. You don’t understand why it never feels like enough, why your brain always finds the mistake, the flaw, the thing you should have done differently.
Sometimes you wonder how different life might feel if you didn’t have to try so hard all the time. You’re proud of how far you’ve come, but you’re also tired of feeling like you have to keep proving your worth. The thought of slowing down or letting something be “good enough” feels almost impossible. Just thinking about it makes your stomach flutter and your throat tighten. You want to know what it’s like to feel proud of yourself, to rest without guilt.
What If You Didn’t Have to Earn Rest?
Perfectionism often hides behind success, but it comes at a cost: exhaustion, anxiety, and disconnection from your own body. The constant striving that helps you achieve also keeps you trapped in a cycle of tension and self-criticism. Therapy for perfectionism can help you notice the difference between your real self and the voice that keeps pushing for more.
I’m Maya Ribot, a licensed clinical social worker who helps anxious high achievers find rest from perfectionism and burnout. I use a blend of somatic therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you tune into both your body and your thoughts. Together, we slow down the cycle of pressure and self-doubt so you can start to feel safe resting, not guilty for it.
Learning to Trust “Good Enough”
In our work, we pay attention to what your body is telling you. The tightness in your chest before you hit “send.” The stomach drop when you think you made a mistake. These sensations hold information that your mind often ignores. Through somatic awareness, you’ll learn to recognize what anxiety feels like before it takes over.
We’ll also look at your thoughts with compassion instead of judgment. The same drive that helps you succeed can become a gentle guide instead of a relentless critic. Bit by bit, you’ll learn to trust that your worth isn’t tied to your performance. You can do well without needing to do it perfectly.
How Therapy for Perfectionism Helps You Rewire the Pressure Pattern
Perfectionism thrives on the belief that if you can just do more, do better, or get it right, the anxiety will quiet down.
But the truth is — that sense of relief never lasts.
Therapy for perfectionism helps you identify the deeper patterns driving that pressure, so you can respond differently instead of repeating the same burnout loop. Together, we’ll work on three core areas:
Regulate:
Calm your body’s overactive stress response so it no longer equates “relaxing” with danger. You’ll learn how to feel safe slowing down — not just tell yourself to.
Reflect:
Unpack the beliefs that keep you chasing validation, approval, or control. We’ll use evidence-based CBT tools to challenge black-and-white thinking and reduce the “all-or-nothing” patterns that fuel anxiety.
Reclaim:
Redefine success and self-worth on your own terms. You’ll start making decisions from a grounded place — not from fear, guilt, or obligation.
Perfectionism doesn’t disappear overnight, but it can transform. Over time, you’ll notice more flexibility, calm, and confidence — a version of you that can still achieve, but without the constant pressure.
A Mind-Body Approach for Sustainable Change
Perfectionism isn’t just in your thoughts — it’s in your nervous system.
That’s why insight alone isn’t enough to create lasting change.
My approach combines somatic therapy and cognitive-behavioral tools to help you rewire the perfectionism pattern from both directions — mind and body.
Somatic Therapy for Perfectionism
Your nervous system has learned that control and productivity equal safety. Through somatic work, you’ll:
Reconnect with physical cues that signal stress or shutdown
Build tolerance for rest, uncertainty, and imperfection
Practice small moments of letting go to expand your capacity for ease
This isn’t about forcing yourself to relax — it’s about helping your body remember how.
CBT for Perfectionism and Anxiety
CBT helps you notice and reframe the thought loops that keep you stuck in overthinking, comparison, and guilt. You’ll learn to:
Catch perfectionistic thinking before it spirals
Develop more compassionate, flexible self-talk
Practice new behaviors that support balance instead of burnout
When your body feels safe and your mind is grounded, the need to control everything softens — making room for more presence, rest, and genuine satisfaction.
What It’s Like to Work Together
Therapy for perfectionism isn’t about fixing you — it’s about helping you relate to yourself differently.
Our work together is collaborative and paced to meet you where you are. You don’t have to show up with everything figured out — just a willingness to be curious about the patterns that keep you stuck.
You can expect:
A balance of depth and practicality. We’ll connect the dots between your thoughts, body responses, and behaviors — and then apply real-life tools you can actually use.
A space that honors both your ambition and your humanity. I’ll challenge perfectionistic habits while helping your nervous system feel safe enough to change them.
A process that supports integration, not endless improvement. We focus on sustainability — learning how to rest, reset, and move through life with more self-trust.
My clients often tell me therapy feels like exhaling after years of holding their breath.
Rest Isn’t a Reward — It’s a Right
Over time, therapy for perfectionism helps you build a new kind of safety. Instead of waiting for everything to be done before you can breathe, you’ll learn how to breathe as you go. You’ll start to notice moments of calm and presence that used to slip by unnoticed. The goal isn’t to erase your ambition or silence your motivation; it’s to help you find balance so you can enjoy your achievements instead of chasing the next one in fear of falling behind.\
You deserve to feel proud of yourself, not just relieved when you avoid mistakes. You deserve to rest without earning it.
If you’re ready to let go of constant striving and learn what real rest feels like, therapy for perfectionism can help you find your way back to ease, one breath at a time.
