This week’s guest is Dr. Tara Cousineau, a clinical psychologist, meditation teacher, coach, and author of The Perfectionist's Dilemma and The Kindness Cure.

Dr. Amy Cabrera Rasmussen and Dr. Cousineau trace her career to an early childhood incident with a teacher and a guidance counselor, and discuss how these lessons came full circle and have in some ways continued to inspire her writing and counseling efforts.

Dr. Cousineau describes feeling like an outsider in graduate training while pursuing mindfulness and mind-body approaches.

She also explains research showing rising perfectionism and links high standards without self-care to burnout, compassion fatigue, and stress-related symptoms.

Practices she uses herself include emphasizing consistent “deposits” into the nervous system through non-negotiables, habit stacking, micro-breaks between sessions, and time outdoors.

Whether she is discussing neuroplasticity, the importance of mentoring, recounting early lessons from a teen hardware-store job, or emphasizing self-compassion as a key skill, there is much to learn from Dr. Cousineau in this Good Work episode.

Dr. Cousineau has a range of resources available for those interested in learning more, including her “Rewire Your Inner Critic” course, The Peaceful Perfectionist newsletter on Substack, her aforementioned books, and many free tools. Get more info at www.taracousineau.com.

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