Guest: Ann Marie Dobosz author of The Perfectionism Workbook for Teens

This week on Relationships 2.0 my guest is Ann Marie Dobosz author of The Perfectionism Workbook for Teens About the book: Unhealthy perfectionism can result in low self-esteem, severe anxiety, and self-destructive behavior—and teens are especially vulnerable. Based in proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), this workbook will help you develop the self-compassion and mindfulness tools you need to counteract the negative effects of perfectionism and develop new, healthy skills for boosting your self-confidence. In our high-pressure society, it’s easy to hold ourselves (and others) to impossibly high standards. And when we fail to meet those standards—as we inevitably do—we may become overly critical of ourselves, or lash out toward others. While perfectionism is often associated with positive traits, such as conscientiousness, ambition, and pride in good work, dysfunctional perfectionism is destructive and can lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, relationship problems, and a number of mental health concerns, like depression, procrastination, and self-harm. With The Perfectionism Workbook for Teens, you’ll gain a clear understanding of what perfectionism is and learn to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy perfectionism so you’ll be better able to manage your own and others’ expectations. Using powerful tools drawn from cognitive behavioral and mindfulness-based therapies, you’ll learn to identify your perfectionist thoughts, discover new ways of responding to your critical inner voice, and build the skills you need to combat negative behaviors based in perfectionism, like chronic procrastination. If perfectionism is causing trouble in your life, the techniques and exercises in this book will help you develop non-perfectionist skills and habits, leading to reduced fear, anxiety, and shame, and increased self-compassion and confidence in getting things done and handling daily pressures. About the author: Ann Marie Dobosz, MA, MFT, is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco, CA, and mental health specialist for ReachOut USA. She has been passionate about youth health and well-being from her days as an editor at Ms. Magazine, where she focused on issues affecting teens and young adults. In her current work as a mental health professional, she specializes in helping people of all ages change unhealthy perfectionist patterns.