You get home with no energy left even to talk. On Sunday afternoon you are already thinking about Monday. You answer emails at eleven at night, you struggle to sleep and, what worries you most, the job you used to enjoy now leaves you cold. You tell yourself it is a bad patch, but the patch has lasted a year.

If that sounds familiar, you may have thought about seeing a psychologist. This guide to therapy for work stress explains what work stress and burnout are, when it is worth getting help, what research says about what works, what therapy involves, how long it usually takes and how to choose a professional.

Work stress and burnout: what they are

A certain amount of stress at work is normal: it is how we respond to demands. The problem comes when it becomes chronic and is not managed. That is how the World Health Organization describes burnout in the ICD-11 international classification: a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, with three dimensions:

  • Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion.
  • Increased mental distance from one's job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to it.
  • Reduced professional efficacy.

The WHO includes it as an occupational phenomenon, not as an illness, and makes clear that it refers only to the work context. We explain how to tell it apart from stress and anxiety in Stress, anxiety or burnout: how to tell what is happening to you.

The cause does not lie only with the person. The WHO points out that poor working environments, with discrimination and inequality, excessive workloads, low job control or job insecurity, pose a risk to mental health, and it estimates that around 12 billion working days are lost worldwide every year to depression and anxiety.

When to see a psychologist for work stress

It is worth getting help if:

  • The exhaustion does not lift at the weekend or on holiday.
  • You feel distant from work, cynical or indifferent about something that used to matter to you.
  • You feel you are achieving less even though you are trying harder.
  • You sleep badly, find it hard to switch off or think about work all the time.
  • You notice anxiety symptoms or low mood that does not go away.
  • You are thinking about taking sick leave or have already done so.

If you want to put a number on it before your first appointment, the Burnout Test, with 15 questions about the last three months, measures exhaustion, mental distance from work and your sense of efficacy. The Stress Test, with 14 questions about the last month, looks at overload, physical symptoms and your resources for coping with stress. If you are already on sick leave or thinking about it, Sick leave for anxiety or depression in Spain: how it works and how to use it to recover may help.

What works for work stress: what the research says

A meta-analysis by Richardson and Rothstein brought together 36 studies covering 55 work stress programmes and almost 2,850 workers. The programmes lasted 7.4 weeks on average and their overall effect was medium to large. Cognitive behavioural programmes consistently produced better results than the rest, such as relaxation or organisational interventions, although their effect dropped when other components were added. If you are not sure what this approach involves, we explain it in Cognitive behavioural therapy: what it is, how it works and what it treats.

Clinical burnout is a different story. It is one of the leading causes of work absence in high- and middle-income countries, as Perski and colleagues note in a meta-analysis of eight studies of variable quality. Treatments shortened the time until people returned to work, but no significant improvements in exhaustion, depression or anxiety were observed. The ones that worked had something in common: they included advice from labour experts and helped people start a dialogue with their employer.

The WHO's recommendations point in the same direction:

  • Individual interventions to learn to manage stress and reduce symptoms, both psychological ones and leisure-based physical activity.
  • Reasonable adjustments at work, such as flexible hours, extra time for tasks or regular supportive meetings with managers.
  • Return-to-work programmes that combine those adjustments, or a phased return, with ongoing clinical care.

What therapy for work stress involves

Man in a white shirt sitting opposite his psychologist, who is talking to him with a gesture of her hand, during a therapy session for work stress

Understanding where your work stress comes from

Not everything is up to you, and therapy starts by separating what you can change from what you cannot: your workload, how much control you have over it, the standards you set yourself and what work means to you. If you find it hard to lower the bar, Being too hard on yourself: when high standards stop helping may help.

Learning to switch off from work

A meta-analysis by Wendsche and Lohmann-Haislah of more than 38,000 workers found that mentally switching off from work in your free time was linked to less exhaustion, more well-being and better sleep. Doing work-related tasks outside working hours was linked to switching off less. In therapy you can work on how to really close the day: what to do with thoughts about work that come up at night, when to stop checking email and which activities help you change gear.

Setting limits and talking to your employer

Sometimes things improve when you say no, renegotiate tasks or ask for adjustments. In Perski's meta-analysis, the treatments that worked were precisely the ones that helped start that dialogue. In practice, that might mean preparing in session for a conversation with your manager, with human resources or with your company's occupational health and safety service.

Sleep, exercise and going back to work

Sleeping well and moving also count: the WHO includes leisure-based physical activity among its recommendations for managing stress. And if you have been on sick leave, it is worth planning your return. The WHO recommends combining adjustments, such as a phased return, with clinical follow-up.

How long therapy for work stress takes

It depends on where you are. The work stress programmes in the Richardson and Rothstein meta-analysis lasted about seven weeks on average. When burnout has already led to sick leave, the process may take longer and is best coordinated with your return to work. What matters is that the professional explains the plan from the start and that you review progress together.

How to choose a psychologist for work stress

These checks help you choose well:

  • Licensing and registration. That comes first, whatever the approach.
  • Experience with work stress and burnout. Ask how they work and which tools they use.
  • An evidence-based approach. Cognitive behavioural techniques are the ones that have produced the best results in studies.
  • They look at work too. Not only how you feel, but which changes to your role or the way you work could help.
  • Coordination with your doctor, especially if you are on sick leave or taking medication.

A psychologist for work stress

At MyPsicoTest we recommend Xènia Capel Salcedo, a licensed clinical psychologist (COPC 14982) with a master's degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. She sees clients in Igualada and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia and also through online therapy, and on that page she explicitly lists work stress among the problems that can be treated remotely. Her therapy for adults is designed, among other things, to help people manage stress, and on her blog she has published a guide to the signs of work stress and burnout and how to deal with them. She works from an integrative, evidence-based approach: on her website she explains that she uses tools from cognitive behavioural therapy, EMDR, systemic therapy and person-centred therapy. Sessions last about 60 minutes and are available in English, Spanish or Catalan, how long the process takes depends on each case, and the first contact is a free, no-commitment information session by phone. She herself points out that in a serious crisis or psychiatric emergency, immediate in-person care is what is needed.

If your result worries you or you want a professional assessment, you can talk to Xènia Capel Salcedo, a licensed psychologist (COPC reg. 14982), who offers a free first consultation call and online therapy from anywhere.

MyPsicoTest team · Updated: