Perfectionism Therapy
KlearMinds therapy for perfectionism can help. Our therapists use a powerful combination of integrative psychotherapy and coaching to help you turn around things around positively. We can help you stop perfectionism from undermining your happiness and success.

What is Perfectionism?
Perfectionists are never happy with what they achieve, they can always do better and will often experience feelings of failure as the goals they set can be unrealistic and many times, impossible to reach. Some characteristics of perfectionists are:
- Viewing mistakes as failures
- Holding high, unrealistic goals
- Spending excessive amounts of time planning or redoing work in an attempt to make it perfect
- Being risk adverse unless “success” is guaranteed
- Feedback or criticism is feared
- Can find it difficult to adapt if plans do not go the way they planned.
- Feel like you fail at everything you try.
- Procrastinate regularly — you might resist starting a task because you’re afraid that you’ll be unable to complete it perfectly.
- Struggle to relax and share your thoughts and feelings.
- Recognise Perfectionism – there is nothing wrong with having high standards, but if these standards are too high, they can get in the way of your work, relationships, and life.
- Understand the factors that cause your perfectionism
- Discover how to recognise physiological symptoms of stress and anxiety that often accompany perfectionistic thinking
- Explore alternatives strategies to replace perfectionism
- Realistic Thinking – replace self-critical or perfectionistic thoughts with more realistic statements. For example, “nobody is perfect”, “all I can do is my best”, “making a mistake is not catastrophic, its human”.
- Look at the big picture – perfectionists tend to get bogged down in details and worry a great deal about the small or little things.
- Set realistic standards – although I would like to be employee of the year, is that reasonable in my first year?
Am I a Perfectionist?
For some, perfectionism is positive. They use their drive and goals to strive for the life they want. They can push for perfection, without a loss of self-esteem and they also feel pleased about the effort and commitment they make.
For others, the impacts of perfectionism can be negative. They rarely feel satisfied or secure about what they’ve done, frequently being critical of themselves and others, who continue to fall short of perfectionist standards.
The origins or causes of perfectionism are less clear. It could be caused by a fear of judgement, or a way of avoiding any disapproval from others. Early childhood experiences, such as having parents who communicate unrealistic expectations, could play a role. If you believe that your self-worth is based on achievements, perfectionism may find fertile ground to develop.
So, while most would consider having high standards and striving for excellence a good thing, as this enables some of our elite sports people to train long and hard to reach excellence. Perfectionism can involve setting impossible standards and that anything short of perfection is terrible, some believing that minor imperfections are catastrophic. Can you imagine going through life believing that you should never make a mistake?
So when perfectionism is operating you might feel:-
Of course, producing high quality work, with laser like focus and attention to detail is exciting. But when the consequences of imperfection are small, or we need to deliver something quickly which is “good enough”, then perfectionist tendencies can be less than helpful and sometimes harmful.
Therefore, it may be worthwhile considering the standards you use, and how you judge yourself. Would it help to loosen these standards and ease the stress and anxiety of trying so hard to be perfect? Or does even the thought of loosening your standards elicit fear and anxiety?
Take the first step towards Overcoming Perfectionism
Meet Our Experienced Therapists







Maggie’s experience spans over 20 years helping people overcome problems so they can enjoy more fulfilling and satisfying lives.


Therapy Reviews

Not Sure Which Therapist Or Type Of Therapy You Need?
Get in touch with Maggie Morrow, Award Winning Therapist & KlearMinds Director. Maggie can help match you with the right therapist based on your needs.
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Our London Therapy Locations
We help people across London and have therapy rooms in Central London & London City.
Quality Standards
Our hand-selected therapists have trained in the UK’s most respected counselling institutions. They hold a minimum of 8 and up to 30 years clinical experience within the NHS, private and/or charitable sectors in and around London. They are registered with: