Most of us are experts at avoiding the conversations, risks, and feelings that would change our lives. I help capable people turn toward what’s hard, so they can go after what matters to them, at work and at home, and feel right from the inside out.
Clinician or coach? Get the free starter kit from my new book →
The voice that got you here won’t get you where you want to go. Together we replace self-criticism with an inner coach: someone on your side who still holds you to what matters. That means clearer decisions, steadier relationships, and more room to enjoy your life, without lowering the bar.
These patterns look like separate problems. Usually they’re one: a way of avoiding feelings like disappointment, rejection, or not being enough. In my clinical work, I call it perfectionism. It rarely looks like perfection.
About my new book →Most capable people live in Paralysis & fear: high expectations, low support. They assume it’s the price of doing well. The work isn’t lowering the bar. It’s keeping the expectations and adding the support. That’s the Growth zone.
Tap a square to see what each one feels like.
The inner critic is in charge. Nothing is ever quite enough, so you brace, overwork, put off what matters, or quietly burn out. It looks like drive from the outside. It feels like fear from the inside.
A shame-informed, integrative approach to help clients recover from emotional avoidance, self-sabotage, and overachievement. Six composite clients, ten chapters, and fifteen worksheets you can use in session.
“Rather than asking people to give up caring or achieving, Treating Perfectionism shows how we can loosen the grip of avoidance and shame.”Steven C. Hayes, PhD · Originator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Whether you want to work one-on-one, bring this work to your team, or train clinicians and coaches, here’s where to start.
One-on-one coaching with me, virtually, from anywhere. For high achievers ready to stop second-guessing and move forward with clarity, in work and in relationships.
Explore coaching →Talks on doing hard things, quieting the inner critic, and leading without burning out, for companies, conferences, entrepreneur groups, and clinical teams. Now booking 2027.
See topics →Forbes contributor and host of The Failure Factor, writing and talking about ambition, failure, and the psychology of work.
Read and listen →
Megan Bruneau is a clinically trained therapist and executive coach who has spent nearly two decades helping people change what’s underneath how they live and work. She started on a crisis line in 2006, earned her master’s in counselling psychology, and has since worked with founders, executives, creatives, and clinicians on the patterns that keep capable people stuck: avoidance, self-criticism, and the quiet belief that they have to earn their place.
She’s a Forbes contributor, host of The Failure Factor, and the author of How to Be Alone (and Together) and Treating Perfectionism (PESI, 2027), a clinical manual that reframes perfectionism as shame-driven avoidance. Her expertise has appeared in The New York Times, Good Morning America, Business Insider, Psychology Today, and Quartz. She also knows this pattern from the inside, which is a big part of why she does this work.
Also by MeganHow to Be Alone (and Together)72 lessons on being at peace with yourself →
Read more about the book →“The exposure to feeling like a failure had loosened my perfectionism’s grip. I began doing things that scared me, things I never would have attempted before. I traveled despite a debilitating fear of flying. I tried out for (and ultimately joined) a Division I soccer team despite anxiety insisting I’d embarrass myself. I launched a blog that felt wildly vulnerable and shared my posts with everyone I knew.
Each risk built evidence: I could survive imperfection.”
Talks & panels forBig Law firms · Entrepreneurs’ Organization · SXSW · Audible · WeWork · Soho House Founders Club · University of Michigan
Conversations about failure, money, and mental health with the founders who’ve lived it, and columns on the psychology of work.
Honest conversations with founders about the setbacks behind the headlines, and what they learned about themselves along the way.
Listen to episodes ↗Plus the archive of Megan’s earlier show, Better Because of It →
“Megan Bruneau has a rare gift for making complex psychological patterns feel both deeply understandable and genuinely changeable.”
Occasional notes on perfectionism, shame, self-compassion, and doing hard things with a little more ease, plus news about Treating Perfectionism.
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New book · PESI · January 2027
A shame-informed, integrative guide for clinicians and coaches helping clients who can't stop striving, and can't stop feeling like it's never enough. Preorder now and get the free starter kit.