You're Not an Imposter—You're an Immigrant: Therapy for Belonging in NYC

You've achieved everything you set out to achieve. The degree, the job, the success. But you still feel like you don't belong. Like you're faking it. Like any moment, someone will realize you're not supposed to be here—in this room, at this table, in these spaces that weren't built for people like you.

Every accomplishment feels like luck, not skill. Every achievement feels fragile, like it could be taken away. You scan the room and don't see faces like yours, accents like yours, stories like yours. And that voice in your head whispers: You're an imposter. You don't belong here.

But here's what that voice doesn't tell you: You're not an imposter. You're an immigrant navigating spaces that were never designed for you. And that's not the same thing.

As a first-generation Greek-American therapist in Brooklyn and throughout New York State, I understand the specific kind of imposter syndrome that immigrants and children of immigrants carry. It's not just self-doubt—it's the internalized message that people like us don't belong in spaces like these.

Let's talk about what's really happening, and how to heal it.

What Immigrant Imposter Syndrome Actually Is

Classic imposter syndrome is the feeling that your success is undeserved, that you're fooling people, that you'll be "found out" as a fraud despite evidence of your competence.

Immigrant imposter syndrome adds layers of complexity:

You're marked as "other"
Your accent, your name, your mannerisms, your cultural references—they mark you as different. You're constantly reminded you don't quite fit, which feeds the feeling that you don't belong.

You're navigating systems designed for people who aren't you
American professional spaces, academic institutions, corporate culture—they were built by and for white, American-born people. When these spaces don't feel natural to you, it's not because you're an imposter. It's because they weren't designed with you in mind.

You're code-switching constantly
You speak one way at home, another way at work. You're performing a version of yourself that feels acceptable in professional spaces while suppressing the parts of you that feel "too ethnic," "too foreign," "too different."

You carry your family's unfamiliarity with these spaces
Your parents don't understand your job, your degree, your professional world. They can't give you advice or context. So you're navigating without a map while people around you seem to have inherited one.

You question whether you "deserve" opportunities
Did you get the job because you're qualified, or because of diversity quotas? Are you really smart, or did you just work harder? You second-guess every achievement in ways your American-born peers don't.

Success feels like betrayal
The more successful you become, the more you move away from your family's world. Success can feel like you're becoming someone they don't recognize, which creates guilt that masquerades as imposter syndrome.

The Mental Health Impact

Immigrant imposter syndrome isn't just annoying self-doubt—it creates real psychological suffering:

Chronic anxiety in professional spaces
Every meeting, every presentation, every networking event triggers anxiety. You're hyperaware of how you're being perceived, constantly monitoring yourself for "mistakes" that will reveal you don't belong.

Overworking to prove yourself
If you're not sure you deserve to be here, you compensate by working twice as hard. You can't afford to make mistakes. You can't afford to be average. The pressure is exhausting.

Difficulty accepting praise or success
When someone compliments your work, you deflect. When you achieve something, you minimize it. You genuinely can't take in positive feedback because it doesn't match your internal narrative.

Perfectionism that's never satisfied
You have to be perfect to justify your presence in spaces where you feel you don't belong. But perfection is impossible, so you're stuck in a cycle of never feeling good enough.

Isolation and loneliness
You don't talk about these feelings because you're afraid it will confirm that you don't belong. So you carry this doubt alone, which makes it feel more true.

Fear of visibility
You want to succeed, but you also want to stay invisible. Being seen means risking being exposed as "other," as not belonging. So you play small, hold back, don't take up space.

Why Your Accent Triggers Your Imposter Syndrome

For many immigrants, the accent is ground zero for imposter feelings.

You speak. Someone asks you to repeat yourself. Or they compliment your English (as if it's not your language). Or they make a face when they hear your name. Or they ask "where are you really from?"

Each interaction reinforces: You're not from here. You don't belong.

The accent becomes:

• Evidence you're not "really" American/professional/qualified

• Something you try to hide or minimize

• A source of shame instead of cultural pride

• A trigger for anxiety in professional settings

But here's the truth: Your accent is not evidence of incompetence. It's evidence of bilingualism, of cultural fluency, of navigating multiple worlds. That's a strength, not a deficit.

In therapy, we work with:

• Healing shame around your accent and name

• Reclaiming your linguistic complexity as valuable

• Building tolerance for being marked as "other"

• Challenging internalized messages about who "sounds" professional

The "Only One in the Room" Experience

You walk into the room and scan for faces like yours. There aren't any. You're the only immigrant, the only person with an accent, the only one whose name people can't pronounce.

This isn't paranoia. This is reality. And it activates imposter syndrome because when you're the only one who looks/sounds/is like you, your brain asks: Should I even be here?

This creates:

• Hypervigilance about how you're being perceived

• Pressure to represent your entire culture

• Fear of making mistakes that will reflect on all immigrants

• Exhaustion from being constantly "on"

• Loneliness even when surrounded by people

The problem isn't you. The problem is systems that haven't diversified enough to make you feel like you naturally belong.

Art Therapy Practice: Reframing Your Story

You'll need:

• Paper and drawing materials

• Two different colored pens

Part 1: The Imposter Story

Write down or draw the imposter story you tell yourself:

• "I don't belong here"

• "I'm not qualified"

• "I got lucky"

• "People will realize I'm a fraud"

Let yourself see these thoughts on paper. They feel so true in your head, but how do they look externalized?

Part 2: The Evidence

Now, in a different color, write actual evidence of your competence:

• Degrees, certifications, skills you've earned

• Projects you've completed successfully

• Positive feedback you've received

• Problems you've solved

• Times you've helped others

• Knowledge you possess

Look at both lists. Which one is based on facts?

Part 3: Reframe as "Navigator, Not Imposter"

Create an image of yourself not as an imposter, but as a navigator—someone who's learning to move through spaces that are new, unfamiliar, not designed for you.

You're not faking it. You're adapting, translating, code-switching, learning systems that weren't built with you in mind. That's not imposter syndrome—that's immigration.

Write a new story: "I am not an imposter. I am an immigrant navigating spaces my family never had access to. My discomfort is not evidence of my inadequacy—it's evidence of systemic barriers I'm breaking through."

When to Get Therapeutic Support

Consider therapy if:

• Imposter feelings are preventing you from taking opportunities

• You're overworking to the point of burnout

• You can't accept praise or acknowledge your achievements

• Professional anxiety is affecting your daily life

• You're considering leaving jobs/careers because you feel you don't belong

• Shame about your identity is overwhelming you

In therapy, we use:

EMDR for microaggressions and shame
Processing specific experiences of being "othered," discriminated against, or made to feel you don't belong.

Somatic work for anxiety
Learning to regulate your nervous system when imposter feelings activate it in professional spaces.

Parts work
The part of you that feels like an imposter, the part that knows you're qualified, the part that's protecting you from rejection—helping them communicate.

Narrative therapy
Rewriting the story from "I'm an imposter" to "I'm navigating systems that weren't built for me, and that's actually impressive."

You Belong Because You're Here

Here's what I want you to understand: You're not an imposter. You earned your place. Your degree, your job, your success—they're yours because you qualified for them, worked for them, deserve them.

The discomfort you feel isn't evidence that you don't belong. It's evidence that you're doing something your family never had the opportunity to do, navigating spaces that are unfamiliar, breaking barriers that were meant to keep people like you out.

That discomfort is courage, not fraud.

You belong because you're here. Full stop.

Support for Your Journey

If imposter syndrome is holding you back from fully stepping into your success, let's work together.

As a first-generation Greek-American therapist, I understand what it's like to feel like you don't belong in spaces you've earned access to. I know the specific doubt that comes from being an immigrant in professional America.

I work with immigrants and first-generation Americans in Brooklyn (in-person) and throughout New York State (virtual) to heal imposter syndrome, build confidence, and help you claim your rightful place in spaces you've worked so hard to reach.

Ready to stop feeling like an imposter and start owning your success? Schedule your free consultation in Brooklyn or anywhere in New York State.

You are not an imposter. You are an immigrant doing something extraordinary.

Irene Maropakis, LCAT, is a first-generation Greek-American Creative Arts Therapist specializing in imposter syndrome, immigrant identity, and professional anxiety. She practices in Brooklyn, NY and virtually throughout New York State.