Lies We Tell Ourselves: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Deception as Mental Health Professional - 2023 Conference

Session Description

As humans, we all lie to ourselves. At the most basic level, self-deception is fooling ourselves into believing something that’s false—or—refusing to believe something that’s true. And although it’s often unconscious, self-deception can negatively affect our lives because it’s almost impossible to change something we can’t admit. Consistent with this year’s WAMFT conference theme of Entering Into Fullness: Self of the Therapist, this keynote address explores the psychology of self-deception. Using examples relevant to mental health professionals, this talk will explore how people lie to themselves from a psychological perspective.

After reviewing perspectives on self-deception from some of the primary psychotherapeutic orientations, we will delve why people lie to themselves and how it can negatively affect our self-image, clinical work, interpersonal relationships, and society at large. Finally, we will explore some practical ways to become more honest with ourselves, thereby becoming more authentic and empowered over time. Learning Objectives

• Describe at least 3 common ways people lie to themselves.
• Identify some of the primary costs of self-deception to individuals, their relationships, and society at large.
• Identify 3 strategies to challenge self-deceptive tendencies.