Perfectionism & Depression: CBT and ACT Strategies to Boost Self-Compassion and Authenticity
- Speaker:
- Margaret Rutherford, PhD
- Duration:
- 3.5 Hours
- Copyright:
-
Nov 02, 2026
- Product Code:
- POS151033
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar - Also available: Live Webinar
Description
- Tools to transform shame, over-responsibility, and fear of losing control
- Expand clients’ emotional life and sense of self so they can experience choice and freedom
- Identify and treat the ten telltale traits that camouflage suicidality
When perfectionism is present, it drastically changes how depression appears.
And you weren’t trained to catch it.
These clients don’t look depressed – their lives are polished, full of success and social connections. They seem to have the motivation and energy for anything and everything.
But inside, they hold enormous despair that puts them at risk for suicide.
And – feeling confined by the image they’ve cultivated – they struggle to be authentic even when they’ve reached out to you for help.
Dr. Margaret Rutherford – author of the highly acclaimed book Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism That Masks Your Depression – will give you a framework for recognizing destructive perfectionism and the skills to transform it into adaptive living.
You’ll learn:
- A strengths-based suicide risk assessment that helps clients open up
- Tools for accepting strong emotions, opening up to play, and being real in relationships
- An integrative framework to shift shame and foster self-compassion
PURCHASE TODAY to get the skills and confidence you need to help clients step back from the burden of appearing perfect.
Credit
Speaker
Margaret Rutherford, PhD Related seminars and products
Margaret Rutherford, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, author, podcaster, and TEDx speaker, with experience working in schools, hospitals, community mental health centers, and private practice. She is the author of Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism That Masks Your Depression and the forthcoming Perfectly Hidden Depression Workbook. Her popular podcast, The SelfWork, has been continuously rated as one of the best podcasts for depression by websites such as HealthLine and VeryWellMind, and ranks internationally in the top 0.5% of all podcasts. Dr. Rutherford provides training to mental health clinicians worldwide as well as the general public about the dangers of perfectionism and the inherent need for increased transparency around depression. Her work has been featured on Psych Central, Psychology Today, The Gottman Blog, Readers Digest, HuffPost, The Mighty, the Visibility Gap, and many other mental health outlets. A past president of the Arkansas Psychological Association, she is the recipient of the 2009 Outstanding Private Practice Award for establishing mental health services at a free health center, now named Welcome Health.
Dr. Rutherford has made it a mission to try and reach individuals suffering from perfectly hidden depression – to help them feel understood, seen, and hopeful that there’s another way out of the intolerable but silent pain they feel.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Margaret Rutherford is a podcast host of The SelfWork Podcast and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium from CEYou! and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Margaret Rutherford has no relevant non-financial relationships.
Additional Info
Questions?Visit our FAQ page at www.pesi.com/faq or contact us at www.pesi.com/info
Objectives
- Analyze the relationship between depression and perfectionism.
- Identify how perfectionism alters the presentation of depression and obscures suicide risk.
- Utilize two CBT interventions to decrease shame and over-responsibility associated with perfectionism.
- Integrate client values and self-compassion strategies into treatment to detach from rigid overfocus on accomplishments.
Outline
Destructive Perfectionism – Perfectly Hidden Depression
- The paradox – from adaptive to rigid & protective to harmful
- Types of perfectionism and why they matter clinically
- The ten traits and how to identify them
- Overlap with and differentiation from depressive disorders
- Other significant findings from perfectionism research
- Reasons for denial and misdiagnosis
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
- Case study
Treatment Strategies
- The importance of a collaborative approach
- General challenges in treating perfectionism
- Language shifts that make a big impact
- Triage when there are comorbid conditions – trauma, anxiety, and more
- Assess suicide risk with strengths-based, relational strategies
- Cognitive tools to transform shame into wise remorse
- Behavioral experiments to rebalance over-responsibility and learn to play
- Trauma timeline to identify, accept, and express emotional pain
- Grounding and worry journal to challenge fear of losing control
- Values work to detach from overfocus on accomplishments
- Interventions to expand self-definition
- Tools to build trust and emotional intimacy
- Self-compassion strategies to decrease denial and toxic positivity
- Redefine “enough” to develop a more balanced view of success
- Increase comfort with emotional transparency
- Case study
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Addiction Counselors
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Other Mental Health Professionals
Reviews
Satisfaction Guarantee
Your satisfaction is our goal and our guarantee. Concerns should be addressed to: PO Box 1000, Eau Claire, WI 54702-1000 or call 1-800-844-8260.
ADA Needs
We would be happy to accommodate your ADA needs; please call our Customer Service Department for more information at 1-800-844-8260.
PESI Mobile App
Access CE trainings on your phone or tablet through our free mobile app. Choose video or audio-only versions of online courses from the world’s best instructors, and complete your CE requirements anywhere, anytime, at your own pace.
Please wait ...