ODL 352: When Anxiety Shows up as Perfectionism and People Pleasing: What Is It, Where Does It Come From, and How Can We Help Our Clients?

Please make sure to check with your own state board to ensure the transferability of CE credit for an asynchronous course. Some state boards may place restrictions regarding the modality of training required for ethics credits to be awarded. If this training indicates ethics credits are available, please verify that your state allows them to be earned through an on-demand course format.

1 CREDIT HOUR APPROVED FOR:

Social Workers
ASWB ACE – 1 Clinical CE Credit
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work – 1 Contact Hour
Psychologists
APA – 1 CE Credit
Counselors
NBCC ACEP – 1 Contact Hour
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners – 1 Contact Hour
Addiction Professionals
NAADAC – 1 Contact Hour
Nurses
California Board of Registered Nursing – 1 Contact Hour
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners – 1 Contact Hour
Case Managers
CCMC – 1 Contact Hour

Created On:      8/21/25                

Target Audience:

This course is targeted for social workers, psychologists, counselors, nurses and case managers.

Counselor Skill Groups: 

4. Counseling Services

Overview:

This course aims to assist clinicians in recognizing that perfectionism and people pleasing are actually trauma responses and coping skills, not just personality quirks or behaviors that clients can easily “just stop doing if they tried hard enough.” These are also behaviors that keep clients stuck and feeling unseen and unknown in their relationships. Participants will learn how and why these traits and behaviors showed up in the first place. They will also learn how to effectively support clients in beginning the shift toward reducing perfectionism and people-pleasing behaviors. By reducing these behaviors, clients will experience more authentic relationships, learn to trust themselves, increase self compassion, boost esteem and confidence, and decrease anxiety and depression. 

Course Objectives:

By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:

• Recognize and identify behavioral patterns and triggers of people-pleasing and perfectionism-related anxiety in patients across various life domains.
• Demonstrate proficiency in the application of evidence-based interventions tailored to address people-pleasing and perfectionism-driven anxiety.
• Integrate strategies to promote healthier coping mechanisms and cultivate self-compassion in patients struggling with anxiety rooted in people pleasing and perfectionism.

Presenter:

Bethany Comeau, MA, LPC

Bethany Comeau is a licensed professional counselor in private practice based in Americus, Georgia, with nearly 20 years experience in the mental health field. In addition to working with clients whose anxiety is rooted in perfectionism and people pleasing, her clinical areas of focus also include grief and loss, infertility, and The Highly Sensitive Person. Bethany is also a recovering perfectionist and people pleaser, and deeply passionate about helping others who are struggling with types of trauma responses learn how to find their way back to themselves.