Less Than Perfect, but Better: Overcoming the Hold of Perfectionism (Postponed)

This session has been postponed due to low enrollment. A new date will be posted on our website once confirmed.

We live in a culture that emphasizes being perfect as a virtue in everything from body image to relationships to career achievements. The problem is that life and humanness, in spite of our best efforts, is messier than this. Having high standards is one thing, but taking a perfectionistic approach to life can actually get in the way of your success. Striving for perfect often involves chronically doubting or second guessing yourself, being relentlessly hard on yourself (or others), and never feeling like you quite "make it." When chronic procrastination shows up in your workplace role, it can mean delays on your deadline completions, the possible strain on peer and supervisory relationships, and carrying around a sense of never feeling like you are "good enough."

This session will introduce participants to some of the concepts that drive perfectionism so that they may have a better understanding of what is going on as well as provide strategies to manage the challenging parts that arise within us that keep it going.

What You Will Learn

• Identifying hallmarks of perfectionism as a mindset and how it is different from a “high-standards” or success orientation.
• Perfectionistic sub-types: explore and identify your own profile of perfectionism
• A quick, deep dive into the psychology of perfectionism, specifically the origins and maintainers of the perfectionistic mode of relating to the self or others.
• Practical strategies for moving from perfectionism to a healthy achievement orientation in your work.

FACILITATOR

Alex Abdel-Malek, MSW, RCC
Registered Clinical Counsellor

Alex Abdel-Malek, MSW, RCC, is a McGill trained psychotherapist and professional educator devoted to the question of how meaningful choices affect our health and wellbeing. A passionate clinician and speaker with over 25 years of experience in the field, Alex has been an instructor at many leading educational institutions, including SFU, UBC Robson Square, BCIT, City University, Vancouver Community College, and Mount Royal University.
 
He has conducted training sessions for organizations throughout Western Canada on topics relating to mental health, trauma, and employee well-being, including from extensive work with the Canadian Coast Guard, the RCMP and other first-responder groups, health-care and front-line social service agencies. He has also worked extensively with UBC and other organizations for many years; his specialized workshops on procrastination and perfectionism have been attended by well over 3000 workshop attendees.
 
Alex lives and works in Port Moody, Greater Vancouver, where he runs a full-time clinical practice.
www.portmoodytherapy.com

REGISTRATION

This session has been postponed due to low enrollment. A new date will be posted on our website once confirmed.

ACCESSIBILITY

If you have a disability, medical condition, or accessibility concern that may affect your full participation in the event, please email postdoctoral.fellows@ubc.ca in advance of the event.

DELIVERY FORMAT

This session will be delivered online via Zoom. The following suggestions may help to improve the online experience:

• Use headphones to reduce noise and avoid feedback between your mic and speaker.
• Ensure that you are in a quiet location so that the audio does not get polluted with unwanted noise.
• Keep your microphone on mute unless you are speaking during the session.
• In case of technical problems, time for plugin downloads, etc., please attempt to log into the Zoom meeting 10-15 minutes before the start. You will be placed in the waiting room until the official start time.