Therapy Chat | Psychotherapy | Mindfulness | Trauma | Attachment | Worthiness | Self Care | Parenting

Welcome! My guest today is Sharon Martin, LCSW, a psychotherapist in San Jose, CA. Sharon writes the blog “Happily Imperfect” for Psych Central. Our topic today is Perfectionism—something so many of us struggle to overcome. What you’ll hear in this episode: Sharon’s private practice focuses on perfectionism, co-dependency, people-pleasing, and anxiety—she tells us how they are all intertwined. Sharon works as a clinical supervisor, both independently and for a non-profit; she enjoys working with new social workers. In her 20+ years in this field, Sharon has had to learn to focus on self-care, knowing when to say “yes” and when to say “no.” “It can’t just be about making everybody else happy.” Sharon says that some total failures can be re-labeled as “partial succeses.” Change requires that you experience some amount of anxiety. Co-dependency is a relationship dynamic where two people are dependent on each other in different ways. One takes on the role of caretaker, rescuer, or fixer in this lopsided relation