Work Stress Therapy
Find Relief from Burnout and Overwhelm
Hi, I’m Dr. Nicole Moshfegh, a licensed clinical psychologist in California. If you’re struggling with work-related stress and burnout, I offer personalized work stress therapy to help you regain control and live your life more fully.
Chronic fatigue, stress, and even resentment can make work feel like a daily battle. You might be feeling trapped, unsure of how to support yourself, or worried about letting others down if you make changes. This uncertainty can make it hard to take steps toward the peace of mind you deserve.
I understand these feelings, and I’m here to help you navigate them. Through work stress therapy, I help you uncover the root causes of your burnout and provide practical tools to cope with work stress. Together, we’ll work toward creating a healthier, more balanced life.
My Approach to Work Stress Therapy
People face work stress for many reasons. Through my experience working with professionals from various fields, I’ve found that work stress therapy is most effective when we address both the external challenges of a toxic work environment and the internal barriers that contribute to stress, such as difficulty with boundary-setting and people-pleasing tendencies.
Many individuals know they struggle with boundaries, but they’re unsure how to assert them without feeling guilty or uncomfortable. Work stress therapy helps you identify these boundaries, learn how to communicate them effectively, and manage the emotional challenges that come with setting them. I also integrate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness techniques to help you address unhelpful thoughts, manage stress, and calm your nervous system.
Additionally, understanding the deeper reasons behind your stress can provide lasting relief. By exploring how you ended up in your current situation, we can uncover the roots of your burnout, empowering you to live a more authentic, fulfilling life.
Work Stress Therapy FAQs
What is Work Stress or Burnout?
Burnout is a state of overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment from your job or from school, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. Individuals in helping professions, such as healthcare, or those with high workloads are at increased risk of burnout. If left unaddressed, burnout can contribute to several health consequences, including depression, anxiety, or insomnia, fatigue, alcohol or substance misuse, heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes, among others.
Why Does Burnout Occur?
While there are a variety of causes that can contribute to burnout, some of the most common include the following:
Lack of control: limited or no ability to impact the decisions that affect your job (e.g., schedule, assignments, workload)
Unclear job expectations: unclear of what others expect from you or about the degree of authority you have
Dysfunctional workplace dynamics: being bullied, undermined, or micromanaged by supervisors or colleagues
Extremes of activity: either monotonous or chaotic amounts of activity requires constant energy to remain focused
Lack of social support: feeling isolated at work or in your personal life
Work-life imbalance: limited to no time or energy to spend with family and friends due to work demands
Am I Experiencing Burnout?
Ask yourself the following questions to assess whether you are currently experiencing burnout:
Have you become cynical or critical at work?
Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started?
Have you become irritable or impatient with co-workers, customers, patients, or clients?
Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive?
Do you find it hard to concentrate?
Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?
Do you feel disillusioned about your job?
Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?
Have your sleep habits changed?
Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, stomach or bowel problems, or other physical complaints?
While answering yes to one or two of these questions may not mean you are necessarily experiencing burnout it is important to evaluate whether there is a pattern of experiencing these feelings or symptoms that seem to be directly correlated to your work environment or situation. A burnout specialist can help you better assess whether what you are experiencing is due to burnout or other mental health challenges.
How is burnout treated?
Though it’s helpful to address burnout through self-care and conversations with supervisors, it can often feel overwhelming to make progress without support. That’s where work stress therapy can make a difference. As a therapist with expertise in burnout and work stress, I help you identify the causes of your stress, develop coping strategies, and take actionable steps to improve your situation.
Burnout is a serious issue, and it can often feel overwhelming to tackle on your own. While self-care routines and talking with a supervisor are helpful first steps, the support of a trained professional can make all the difference when it comes to effectively addressing burnout and work stress.
Work stress therapy is designed to help you identify the root causes of your burnout and take proactive steps to improve your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Here's how I approach treatment:
Identifying the Source of Stress
Together, we'll explore the specific factors contributing to your work stress and burnout. These could include your work environment, relationships with colleagues, workload, or personal patterns of perfectionism and people-pleasing. Understanding what’s driving your stress is the first step in taking control of the situation.
Developing Healthy Boundaries
A key aspect of work stress therapy is helping you establish and maintain healthy boundaries at work. Many individuals struggle with setting limits due to guilt, fear of conflict, or the desire to please others. I’ll help you identify these barriers and teach you strategies for asserting your boundaries in a compassionate, effective way.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an evidence-based therapy that helps individuals recognize and challenge negative thought patterns. In work stress therapy, we’ll use CBT to address unhelpful thoughts that may be contributing to burnout, such as feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, or catastrophizing. By replacing these negative thoughts with more balanced, realistic perspectives, you’ll feel more empowered to cope with work challenges.
Mindfulness and Stress-Reduction Techniques
Mindfulness is a powerful tool for managing work stress and burnout. Through mindfulness-based techniques, we can help you stay grounded and present during moments of overwhelm. These techniques will help you manage your emotions, reduce anxiety, and create a sense of calm amidst your busy workday.
Building Emotional Resilience
Work stress therapy also focuses on building emotional resilience so that you can handle stress in healthier ways. I’ll teach you how to recognize the signs of burnout early, create proactive strategies to manage stress, and develop coping skills for when things feel out of control. By learning to manage your emotions effectively, you’ll feel more capable of handling challenges and setbacks without becoming overwhelmed.
Self-Compassion and Self-Care
Many people experiencing work stress tend to be hard on themselves, feeling like they “should” be able to handle everything without help. As part of therapy, we’ll work on cultivating self-compassion and creating a sustainable self-care routine. This will ensure that you have the emotional and physical energy needed to thrive both at work and in your personal life.
Understanding the Underlying Causes of Burnout
In many cases, burnout is a result of long-standing patterns or deeper, unresolved issues. These could include past experiences of stress, unresolved trauma, or feelings of being “stuck” in a particular role or career path. We’ll take a deeper dive into your history and experiences to uncover any patterns that may have contributed to your current situation. By understanding the root causes of your burnout, you’ll be better equipped to make changes that support your overall well-being.
Creating Lasting Change
Work stress therapy is not just about managing the current situation—it’s about creating lasting change. Together, we’ll develop strategies for navigating future work challenges, setting long-term goals for your career and personal life, and fostering a mindset that supports your well-being. By empowering you with tools to handle stress in healthier ways, we’ll ensure that burnout doesn’t return.
Contact Me Today for Work Stress Therapy
If you’re ready to address the work stress that’s holding you back, reach out for a free consultation. Let’s work together to help you find relief and reclaim your peace of mind.