Rachel Fusco (she/her)
Accepting new clients in Ridgefield, Connecticut and virtual therapy for clients located anywhere in California and Connecticut.
Hi. I’m Rachel Fusco.
I work with teens and adults who are successful on the outside but inside feel anxious, self-critical, or disconnected and disengaged.
If you've struggled with people-pleasing, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, or self-criticism, I can help you quiet the noise—and learn how to lean to feel confident about your work and relationships.
I help perfectionists and people pleasers quiet their self-doubt, trust their own voice, and learn to lean into their ambition without the anxiety.
Perfectionism isn’t who you are. It’s a habit you picked up to stay safe, to stay ahead, to stay on peoples’ good sides.
Overthinking is exhausting. On the inside, you’re stuck in your head, overanalyzing every text, conversation, and awkward silence, feeling like you have to prove your worth, worrying that you’re a burden if you ask for help.
Feeling “not good enough” sucks. Doubting yourself grows bigger with each accomplishment. Feeling confident seems impossible when you feel like you’re an imposter or a “fraud.”
Feeling “too much” also sucks. Managing how and when you speak up to come off as too much or too needy makes your needs secondary. Not wanting to be burden, taking on the task/responsibilities, trying not to be needy are also strategies you’ve learned to protect yourself. Looking for reassurance and external validation from others doesn’t work if you feel inherently out of place.
Waiting for the other “shoe” to drop doesn’t ever make you feel better. But you don’t know what else to do to feel in control at work or in your relationships.
If this sounds familiar, therapy can help you start to shift these patterns. Because therapy isn’t just for when things fall apart. Therapy is for when you’re ready for something better.
Imagine if you felt confident in your relationships. If you felt good at work without needing constant reassurance. If you said “no” without guilt—and meant it. If you spoke up without second-guessing yourself or worrying you were being "too much." If you hit “send” on that email or text—without rewriting it a dozen times. If you trusted your gut instead of crowdsourcing your every decision.
I work with teens and adults who are successful on the outside but feel anxious, self-critical, or disconnected inside. Together, we’ll create space for self-compassion that feels doable (not cringey), and build trust in yourself and others, one step at a time.
Email me to schedule a free 15 minute consultation to see if we are a good fit for working together. Or, learn more about why I became a therapist and my therapeutic approach.
What does perfectionism and people pleasing look like?
If you struggle with anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, imposter syndrome, and a loud inner-critic, this might look look like:
feeling constant pressure to be high achieving that you’re taking on too much (burning out) or too little (avoidance and procrastination)
social anxiety and fear of being around others because you feel awkward or worry that you say the wrong things / don’t say the right things
self-criticism and internal thoughts that are really, really mean - thoughts that you’d never say to someone that you care about
spending too much time on work worrying about assignments, projects, or tasks, thinking you won’t do it right despite the evidence that it usually turns out ok
excessive guilt or shame that you aren’t doing enough or being enough, worry that you will disappoint others or yourself
difficulty saying no and taking on more work, staying up late fixing group work, or taking on more than you want to or more than you can handle
difficulty asking for help and not wanting to be a burden on others; worrying about letting other people down, feeling obligated to do the thing on your own to prove that you can to yourself or to others
low self-esteem from not feeling good enough, from social pressures, from messages that you are too big, too small, too much, and not enough
internalized -isms that you hate but are still in your head about gender, race, sexuality, ability, body size, etc
sadness and/or losing interests in the things that you used to enjoy, things that now feel like pressure or a disappointment
lack of motivation and difficulty concentrating because you’re feeling uninterested, overwhelmed, unsure about where to start, or frustrated because it’s hard to keep up
falling behind on work because you’re doing too much and don’t know how to say no or because big feelings like worry or anxiety are interrupting your work flow
loneliness or isolation because of social anxiety and worry that you will say the wrong thing, embarrass yourself, or feel awkward
people-pleasing because it feels mean to be assertive or wrong to have boundaries
explosive anger that comes up unexpectedly because you have a limit to accepting whatever comes your way and being passive with friends, teachers, bosses, partners takes a toll on you