Heidi A. Zetzer, a teaching professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology (CCSP), will be giving the keynote address for the UC Santa Barbara Mental Health Conference on Saturday June, 3rd. Hosted by UCSB’s Associated Students Public and Mental Health Commission, the event will take place from 9 am – 4 pm in the Student Resource Building on the UCSB campus. Registration details can be found at @ucsbmhconference on Instagram.
Dr. Zetzer’s talk, “Making Friends with Imposter Syndrome,” will cover three interpretations of its title: feeling like you have imposter syndrome and making friends, befriending others who feel like they have imposter syndrome, and befriending your own imposter syndrome. “Imposter syndrome” describes a person’s persistent belief that they are not as capable, talented, or cool as other people despite evidence to the contrary. Zetzer will share more about the phenomenon, what is really going on when it happens, and its prevalence among Gen Z college students.
Heidi Zetzer is the Director of the Carol Ackerman Positive Psychology Clinic and the former director of CCSP’s psychology training clinic (2006–2020). She teaches positive psychology, helping skills, and clinical supervision courses at the Gevirtz School. Her scholarship focuses on parallel process in supervision, multicultural clinical supervision, white privilege, and positive psychology, including positive emotion in psychotherapy, flourishing, hope, forgiveness, gratitude, and meaning in life. In addition to her academic pursuits, she is a licensed psychologist and the former president of the Santa Barbara County Psychological Association.
