Improv(e) Your Life: How Improv-Informed Therapy Supports Perfectionists
Improv therapy supports perfectionists in letting go of control and embracing the present. Learn how it helps reduce anxiety and build confidence.
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Heal
If you’ve ever felt like therapy is another place where you need to “get it right”, this one’s for you.
Perfectionism isn’t just about wanting things to go well. It’s about control. It’s about fear. And often, it’s about feeling like who you are isn’t quite enough unless you’re constantly performing, especially in front of others.
That’s where improv-informed therapy comes in.
Yes, improv. As in, “yes, and…”
But instead of a comedy show, this is about learning to feel safe in uncertainty, reduce self-judgment, and reconnect with play, presence, and possibility.
What Is Improv-Informed Therapy?
Improv-informed therapy draws on principles from improvisational theater, spontaneity, collaboration, emotional presence, and integrates them with evidence-based approaches like ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy).
You don’t need to be funny. You don’t need to perform.
You just need to show up, and be open to letting go of the script.
In Bri’s group and individual sessions, improv-inspired tools help clients:
Practice mindfulness in action
Learn to “yes, and” themselves instead of shutting down
Tolerate uncertainty and reduce rigidity
Experience joy without pressure to be “good” at it
Rehearse flexible responses to stress, conflict, or emotion
For perfectionists, especially those in helping professions or high-stakes careers, these techniques are game-changing.
Why Perfectionism Feels Safe, and Keeps You Stuck
Perfectionism often develops as a coping strategy: if I do it perfectly, I won’t be judged… I won’t get hurt… I’ll be safe.
But over time, that need for control becomes a trap. You might notice:
You procrastinate because you’re afraid to do it “wrong”
You overwork but never feel “done”
You can’t relax, even when you’ve earned it
You apologize constantly or downplay your achievements
You hold others to impossible standards too
This kind of perfectionism can show up most in high-functioning, high-achieving adults, therapists, educators, medical professionals, grad students, creatives, anyone used to “keeping it together.”
How Improv + Therapy Help You Rewire That Pattern
The magic of improv isn’t that it fixes you, it frees you.
Instead of analyzing everything before you act, you start experiencing what it’s like to:
Be present in your body and emotions
Try something messy and survive
Connect with others without a performance mask
Laugh at mistakes and keep going
Reframe failure as feedback, not proof you’re not enough
Over time, this builds emotional flexibility, distress tolerance, and self-compassion, especially when combined with Bri’s trauma-informed, psychodynamic, and relational approach.
This Is Especially Powerful for…
Helping professionals who are tired of “holding it together”
High-achieving women who feel pressure to be polished, always
Faith-based clients learning to rest without guilt
Neurodivergent adults who struggle with executive function and perfection loops
Creative professionals who’ve lost the joy in their art
Improv therapy doesn’t ask you to be anyone but who you are, even when that version is messy, uncertain, or still learning.
You Deserve to Breathe Again
You don’t have to be “perfect” to heal. In fact, healing often begins when you finally give yourself permission to be fully human.
Therapy, especially therapy that integrates creativity, flexibility, and evidence-based care, can be a space where you rediscover freedom.
Let’s stop rehearsing and start living.
📣 Ready to release perfectionism and reconnect with your real self?
Let’s explore how improv-informed therapy can help, together.
