Career Burnout Therapy in Vancouver

You’re pouring everything into your career, but running on empty has become your baseline.

Running on empty has become your baseline.

Maybe it started as just feeling a little tired at the end of the week. But lately, the exhaustion feels heavier. You might find yourself staring at your inbox with a sense of dread, feeling detached from work you used to care about, or bringing the stress of the day home with you, unable to switch off.

Your workplace might hand you a mindfulness app or suggest “practicing self-care.” But a bubble bath isn’t going to fix a 60-hour workweek, a toxic management structure, or a workload meant for three people.

You aren’t just “stressed.” You are experiencing career burnout—and you don’t have to navigate it alone.

View current session rates and availability.

What does career burnout actually look like?

Burnout rarely happens overnight. It is a slow buildup of chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed or resolved. It often impacts high-achievers, perfectionists, and those who care deeply about their work.

Burnout shows up differently for everyone, but common signs include:

The “Sunday Scaries”: A heavy sense of anxiety or dread that ruins your weekend before the workweek even begins.
Emotional exhaustion: Waking up tired even after a full night’s sleep, or feeling completely depleted by midday.
Cynicism and detachment: Feeling a growing sense of resentment toward your workplace, clients, or colleagues.
A drop in confidence: Doubting your skills, struggling to make decisions, and feeling like you aren’t doing enough, no matter how hard you work.
Physical symptoms: Tension headaches, digestive issues, tightness in your chest, or an inability to relax your body.

If these resonate, it’s important to know that burnout is not a personal failure. It is your brain and body’s natural response to an environment that is demanding more than you can sustainably give.

Burnout is not your fault—but recovery is yours to lead.

It is incredibly common to blame yourself when you hit the wall. You might think, “I just need to work harder,” or “Everyone else is handling it, why can’t I?”

As a Vancouver-based counsellor, I approach burnout from a strengths-based perspective. You are not broken, and you haven’t lost your edge. In fact, burnout often happens to the most dedicated people. Together, we will step away from the shame and look at the systemic pressures, boundaries, and internal expectations that have brought you to this point.

How burnout counselling can help you reclaim your energy

Therapy for burnout isn’t just about finding a temporary distraction. We will look at the systemic pressures driving your exhaustion, the boundaries you need to survive it, and the internal expectations keeping you stuck.

Navigating the job itself

We will look at the actual mechanics of your workday. This may mean role-playing how to negotiate workload, drafting scripts for setting boundaries with a difficult manager, discussing whether you need to explore medical leave and accommodations, or building an exit plan if leaving is the reality.
Dropping anchor in the storm

When work anxiety spikes, it can feel like a storm inside your mind. Grounding interventions, including Russ Harris’s “Dropping Anchor” exercise, can help you steady yourself in real time and acknowledge overwhelming thoughts without letting them sweep you away.
Unhooking from perfectionism and overwork

We will gently explore the narratives you hold about productivity and self-worth. If your value has always been tied to your output, stepping back can feel dangerous. We will work on unhooking from those beliefs so you can set limits without crippling guilt.
Processing underlying history with EMDR

For some people, burnout sits on top of older experiences—a historically hostile workplace, a bullying manager, or something that happened long before this job. Where appropriate, EMDR can help process those earlier experiences so past stress is no longer fuelling your current exhaustion.

How would therapy look with Theekshitha?

Before moving into clinical psychology, my background was in computer science. I know what relentless sprint cycles, moving goalposts, and intense corporate pressure actually look like on the ground.

I don’t look at burnout as a sign that you are weak; I look at it as a structural problem that we need to solve together. I take a direct, evidence-based approach to help you get your footing back. We will look at what the system is asking of you, and what you are asking of yourself. My goal isn’t just to help you survive your workweek; it’s to help you build a life you don’t feel the need to constantly escape from.

We might not be a good fit if:

You are looking for quick-fix productivity hacks to help you squeeze 20% more output into an already overflowing week.
You want a therapist to simply agree that your boss is the only problem, without looking at the internal boundaries you need to set.

Frequently asked questions about burnout therapy

Do I need to quit my job to recover from burnout?

Not necessarily. While some people realize a career transition is their best path forward, many others recover by fundamentally changing how they engage with their current work. We will figure out what the right choice is for you.

What is the difference between burnout and depression?

Burnout is an occupational phenomenon linked specifically to chronic workplace stress, whereas depression can affect all areas of life. However, they overlap heavily, and untreated burnout can contribute to depression. If you feel like you have already completely crashed, are entirely devoid of hope, or are struggling to function in basic daily tasks, please let me know when you reach out so we can assess what level of support you need right now.

Are sessions online or in person?

All sessions are virtual. I work with adults located anywhere in British Columbia, including Vancouver.

What does it cost?

Current session rates and availability are shared on the contact page. You are welcome to reach out with practical questions before deciding whether to book.

Ready to stop
running on empty?

You don’t have to wait until you completely crash to ask for support.

Book a free 15-minute consultation