The Courage to Be Imperfect: A Boy’s Journey Toward Becoming a Child

Perfectionism is an overlooked trait that has both positive and negative impacts on children’s psychological and physical well-being. Research has shown that children exhibiting maladaptive perfectionism exhibit characteristics such as excessively high standards and extreme concerns over mistakes. Moreover, maladaptive perfectionism places children at risk for a variety of psychological disorders. Considering the importance of early intervention in preventing severe psychological problems that maladaptive-perfectionist children may develop in the future, identifying ways to identify and alleviate maladaptive perfectionist tendencies is key. This article provides a demonstration of Adlerian play therapy as an intervention that offers unique ways to treat maladaptive perfectionism and related emotional and behavioral symptoms in children.