Therapy for
Professionals
Is Your High-Powered Job Contributing To A Lack Of Work-Life Balance?
Have the demands of your leadership role caused you to feel
burnt out and exhausted?
Do you feel invested in your work and employees to the point
that you are clocking extra hours at the office, losing sleep, and
constantly in problem-solving mode?
Have you tried other interventions—including medication—to help
you feel less stressed, only to find that the results are lacking?
You’re a successful woman, and you love a challenge. Yet your
work seems to have taken over every aspect of your life. You
realize that something needs to change, but you might not be ready
for retirement or a new job because you feel so committed to seeing your projects through.
This has probably translated to obstacles in your personal life. It may feel like you need more time for your relationships, hobbies, and even daily necessities like eating and sleeping. Of course, you treasure your family and wish you had more space in your schedule for fun or leisurely activities with your loved ones. But work always seems to pile up whenever you take even a second for yourself.
As A Woman In A Leadership Role, You May Be Struggling With Additional Pressures
You may be the first or one of few women in your role. Feeling immense pressure to demonstrate your abilities and succeed, you might believe there is absolutely no room for mistakes. Furthermore, you are likely a nurturing, empathetic leader, operating as a mentor for the other women on your team and often taking on their struggles in addition to your own.
If you could just relax, you would feel so much more prepared to take on all of your responsibilities and able to make a little more room for you in your life. Fortunately, therapy is an excellent opportunity for professional women to pause, feel supported, and develop a toolbox for cultivating more work-life balance.
If You Feel Burnt Out, You Are Not Alone
Workplace stress is certainly nothing new. However, the stress of the pandemic has taken burnout to a new level. According to Lean In, women are significantly more dissatisfied in their jobs than they were before. In fact, it’s estimated that “one in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to Covid-19.”[1] Many of us are feeling exhausted, confused, and underappreciated at work.
Women in leadership roles encounter specific hurdles that add to the stress. Due to stereotypes about not being competent, assertive, or a good negotiator, we may put extra time and energy into our work and constantly feel like there is something to prove, regardless of how high we rise in the ranks. We maintain a “go big or go home” mindset that quickly contributes to burnout. Not to mention, this kind of mindset breeds competition—rather than collaboration—with other women who are vying for similar roles in male-dominated industries.
Furthermore, gender norms infiltrate the workplace. We may be put in the role of “mother” or “wife” at work, contributing more emotional labor. And when employees come to us with concerns, we want to be the best role model possible for them. But it’s all becoming too much, and sooner or later, it’s time to make a decision about when to expend our energy and when to conserve it.
Counseling is a meaningful opportunity to clarify your moral compass—and how to go in the direction it’s leading you.
Therapy For Professional Women At Inner Voice Counseling
While I generally work with women of all backgrounds in anxiety treatment, I specialize in counseling professionals, executives, and clients experiencing workplace burnout. My goal is to help working women develop stress management and coping techniques that will allow them to thrive in the workplace.
As your therapist, I will provide you with a supportive, nonjudgmental space where you can explore your challenges and develop actionable solutions. Whatever your goals and professional experience may be, I will customize therapy to meet your needs.
What To Expect
To get started, we will use a combination of mindfulness and Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you manage stress in real-time. By
observing your thoughts and emotions in a nonjudgmental way, you
will be more prepared to shift your mindset and see things differently.
This will help you to respond with calm and clarity rather than anxiousness.
Once you have effective coping skills in your toolbox, we will begin looking
at your priorities. Where are you putting your energy at the moment?
What are you spending your free time thinking about? Where are you
taking on more work than what is in the job description?
As we shift focus using your specific value set and moral compass, you will
develop a broader perspective on your life, clarifying how you really want
to live. Soon, the questions will morph into: Where can you make time for yourself? How can you free yourself from feelings of guilt or inadequacy? What does your ideal scenario of work-life balance look like?
It takes time and practice, but you can discover the choices you have and how to enact them. Through therapy, you will begin feeling calmer, more trusting of yourself, and in control—capable of taking on and negotiating some of the demands we experience as professional women. As you explore your capacity for emotional de-escalation and regulation, you can learn to enjoy your work and your life a lot more.
Perhaps You Have Questions About If Counseling Is Right For You…
Should I go on medication as part of my anxiety treatment plan?
A lot of the professional women I work with in therapy have either integrated medication into their anxiety treatment plan or are planning to do so. The choice to go on medication is an entirely individual one, and because I am not licensed to prescribe, I will ultimately leave that decision up to you and your doctor.
That said, counseling is designed to provide you with skills that don’t require medication. If your goal is to taper off medication or avoid going on medication in the first place, therapy can be an extremely effective means for building your toolbox so you can experience less stress and anxiety.
Is this type of therapy effective via Zoom?
My answer to this question is “mostly.” While online counseling is generally as effective as in-person therapy, part of my treatment approach is creating a very calm, relaxing atmosphere where you can really tap into your inner voice.
That said, I am more than happy to meet with clients over Zoom, especially if professional obligations prevent you from attending in-person therapy. If we meet online, I will encourage you to turn off all unnecessary devices, close the door, and create a private space. I may even suggest that you dim the lights so you can feel as relaxed as possible.
I want to make time for therapy, but I don’t think I can.
If you don’t think you have time for counseling, I encourage you to consider how you are prioritizing your mental health at the moment. Therapy typically only takes an hour each week, but the investment is worth opening up your time and getting some of your energy back.
The fact that you are reading this page signals that you recognize yourself in some of these struggles. As your therapist, I want to help you shift your mindset and make some decisions about how to enact the balanced, satisfying life you want for yourself.
Live With More Trust And Less Doubt
I specialize in anxiety treatment for professional women, leaders, and clients seeking therapy for work-life balance. Contact me to schedule an appointment or find out more about my approach.
