An aspiration of mine is to provide emotional and psychological resources to people in high stress jobs who may be showing signs of burnout. We live in an era of innovation, adaption, and relentless “progress”. Most workers, especially across California, are in demanding fields, and even more demanding positions. Now, the intersection of wages, expenses, and ever-increasing costs of housing and health care take a major toll on people I work with (myself included).
I’m talking about chronic stress. I understand it, and have had to manage it myself. Sharing a bit of my career arc may lend some texture to how I work.
The people who I’ve met have arrived from many giving vocations: healthcare, surgery, emergency medicine, first-responders, education, technology/innovation, law, social justice, mental health, entertainment, and parents of young people who were struggling. Two common threads among these unique people were the great meaning they derived from what they do, yet experiences when stress had surged to an almost unmanageable degree.
Being of service has given my clients fulfillment, yes, but also has caused identifiable suffering, sometimes leading to symptoms of real distress. Their good works were punctuated by bouts of chronic anxiety, sometimes spikes of panic, and forced exertion beyond simple fatigue, leading to loss of sleep, dips in mental health, and often relationship strain. Their personal autonomy and sometimes basic needs fell to second tier below the demands of work and family. Sleep disturbances were often the first symptom, followed by irritability, lack of daily functionality, communication breakdowns, and perhaps mild-to-moderate substance use.
Stress affects all humans at some point, especially in environments with persistent impacts to our core processing. While each industry has its particular challenges— what makes it distinctive, as well as what makes its workers so specialized— there is a specific tone that high-pressure careers assert on a person’s central nervous system. And, humans are also impacted by the intersection of workplace stress with our individual core beliefs: what’s important to us (values, ethics, aspirations ), what’s expected by us and by our employers (ideals, norms), and what’s not acceptable (what could be mislabeled as “failure”). Then, place those stressors into the slow boil of everyday financial demands and many experience chronic stress, general or specific anxiety, feelings of panic, a sense of doubt or dread, and existential crises.
In treating these people during the past 9 years, I’ve worked through an integrative psychotherapy lens. I draw from education in Buddhist Psychology, CBT/ ACT ( for insomnia), and Gestalt practices, and I’ve had great mentors along the way. They’ve shown me that there are ways to treat and lessen suffering. After the Covid-19 pandemic, psychotherapy as a whole has had to adapt to rapidly evolving mental health demands. One way I changed my approach was to offer therapy online more than ever before. Then, I did so exclusively. This continues to be an offering of my practice— to meet you wherever you are, when you’re able to talk online from the comfort of your home or another private space.
My approach combines trauma-sensitive care with central nervous system resources, awareness practices, and emotional regulation skills. While this suite of offerings doesn’t work for everyone, I have had a number of folks start with weekly or twice-weekly therapy, and move toward a gradual relief of symptom severity, eventually leading us to every-other-week sessions after consistent therapy. Each individual’s duration of treatment is unique. I have seen people reach change in how they relate to stress, and to realize new choices in how to respond— not just react— to the ever-present moments of reality.
If you’re curious about burnout or how to find support with a challenging work environment, I offer free consultations. I’d be happy to meet you wherever you find yourself, connecting online to anywhere in California you can find a signal.
May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you feel at ease.
.