Maybe you can’t pinpoint exactly when it happened. The endless meetings, the constant emails, the pressure to be “on” in spaces that weren’t designed for you. The exhaustion of code-switching, of being the first or only one, of carrying not just your own dreams but the weight of your community’s expectations in contexts that don’t align with your values or dreams for the world.
You’re beyond tired. You’re burned out.
People keep telling you that you need a vacation or better time management. But you try and it doesn’t work. If you can afford to go on vacation you come back dreading a life you want to escape, navigating systems that demand everything while offering little in return. People keep telling you to practice “self-care” but it just feels like another item on your endless to-do list or another fruitless hit on your bank balance.
When you’re experiencing burnout, you might notice:
Your Experience of Burnout Makes Sense
In a world that:
…feeling burned out isn’t a personal failure or “bad self-care”. It’s a reasonable response to unreasonable demands.
We hear you. And here’s the thing – this isn’t about dropping all your responsibilities or retreating from the world. It’s about finding a different way to be in relationship with your work, your community, and yourself.
The mainstream narrative about burnout gets it wrong. We’re told that the opposite of burnout is self-care. That if we could just take enough bubble baths or practice enough mindfulness, we’d somehow overcome systemic exhaustion. That if we were better at managing our time, we’d somehow be able to produce more, to grind more, to get more financial freedom.
But between us? That’s not the whole story.
Much of our modern society wasn’t built for us — The isolation, the grind, the working for the sake of survival. Like seriously, did you know that we’re the only species on the planet that has to pay to exist?
The truth is, the opposite of burnout isn’t this depoliticized, bubble bath version of self-care or mastering the next AI tool for productivity management, it’s alignment and getting back to our humanness as a form of resistance. Resting with the intention of going harder at productivity is what gets us in this loop of feeling like we can’t ever escape from burnout.
So what do we do instead? While we can’t fully escape the way our society is currently set up…
And that’s how we approach burnout counselling in Vancouver here at Venturous Counselling.
We understand that healing from burnout isn’t just about learning to say no or managing your time better. It’s about examining the systems that create burnout, honoring your body’s signals, and finding ways to engage with your work and purpose that don’t have to feel like a sacrifice.
How we work
At Venturous Counselling, we understand that healing from burnout requires more than just individual coping strategies (though we’ll talk about that as well). Our approach supports you to:
whether that’s somatic practices, nature-based sessions, expressive arts therapy, or EMDR.
Our counsellors bring both professional and living experience to this work. We are Master’s level practitioners with specialized training in burnout and stress counselling, anti-oppressive, intersectional feminist, and anti-colonial frameworks. Most importantly, we understand firsthand the importance of finding therapy that doesn’t require you to explain or justify your identity and experiences.
Sessions are offered virtually across BC, and in-person in Vancouver and Burnaby. We are covered by most insurance providers (check for RCC or Registered Clinical Counsellor in your plan) and can provide direct billing to certain insurance providers.
You can also access sessions with us through CVAP, ICBC, WorkBC or FNHA.
Start with a free 15-minute video conversation to find out more
Q&A
Burnout tends to show up when you’ve been under prolonged stress, when it feels like you’re constantly overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and feeling helpless, hopeless, cynical and resentful. It can manifest emotionally, physically, and mentally. You might find caring about anything feels like a waste of energy, that nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated, when you feel like the majority of your day is spent on tasks that feels mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming. If you’re wondering whether you’re experiencing burnout, your body is likely trying to tell you something. We can help you understand your experience and context.
While burnout is common, it’s not inevitable. We can help you find ways to engage with your work and purpose that don’t require your depletion. Perhaps follow-up questions could be, does burnout have to be part of modern life? Why? Is that sustainable? What kind of world do you want to build for yourself?
Everyone’s journey is different. We’ll work at your pace and regularly check in about what’s helpful. Some people find relief in a few sessions, while others benefit from longer-term support. We’ll work at your pace and regularly check in about what’s helpful and what we might want to try pivoting to. Our goal is to support you in building sustainable, personalized, and effective practices grounded in an intentional narrative and relational shift for yourself, the burnout you’re experiencing, and the relationship you have with our societal contexts.
Sometimes, it’s not about working less, but about restructuring your workload towards personal alignment, making shifts in structures, and changing our relationship with ourselves amidst the work. We understand that not everyone has the privilege of working less. We’ll help you find strategies that work within your real-life constraints while still supporting your wellbeing.
Burnout often stems from very real experiences of systemic harm. Our approach looks at unburdening some of the heaviness and responsibility you might be taking on, and giving it back to the contexts that are actually responsible. We’ll look at the ways you’ve discovered how to make sense of the world and draw on lineages of resistance to these systems that we can access for your day-to-day experience.
Both options can be equally effective. Virtual sessions offer convenience, accessibility, and comforts of being in your own space, while in-person sessions might feel more grounding for some. We can explore what feels right for you, and you’re welcome to switch between the two.
Life happens! We ask for 24 hours notice for cancellations or changes. This helps us maintain accessibility for our community and sustainability for our practice.
Yes, we can work with you to create supporting documentation in session when needed. We’ll discuss this during your session to ensure we understand your needs and can support you appropriately.
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occupying the stolen, ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), Qayqayt, and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) peoples. Our relationship with these lands dictates our commitment to understanding and responding to the ongoing impacts of colonization in our practices in and out of the counselling room.
Learn more about the land you’re occupying at native-land.ca
Building reflexive and fulling relationships can be difficult without guidance, support, and effective communication strategies. Our Services Overview provides insights into various therapeutic approaches designed to help individuals and relationships navigate their journey toward deeper connections.
