We direct bill counselling services to Pacific Blue Cross, GreenShield, Canada Life & Sun Life! For a full list of direct billing providers, click here.
We direct bill counselling services to Pacific Blue Cross, GreenShield, Canada Life & Sun Life! For a full list of direct billing providers, click here.
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.
Burnout therapy recognizes that this isn’t a personal failing – it’s a systemic issue that requires more than vacation days or better time management. 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.
Therapy for burnout offers genuine support in reimagining your relationship with work and rest.
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 and Port Moody 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, Burnaby and Port Moody.
Our burnout counselling rates range from $160-$240 per session.
We offer direct billing to most extended health insurance plans and accept funding through CVAP, ICBC, WorkBC, FNHA, and Autism Funding. Book a free 15-minute consultation to chat about how we can support you to recover from burnout.
We offer direct billing to select insurance providers and funded programs. 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?
Burnout counselling in Vancouver and Port Moody helps you understand and heal from chronic workplace and life stress that goes beyond typical exhaustion. Our approach recognizes that burnout often stems from systemic issues, not personal failings. Through integrating talk therapy with evidence-based therapies like EMDR, somatic therapy, and expressive arts, we help you reconnect with your values, set sustainable boundaries, and find alignment between your work and wellbeing. Sessions can be virtual across BC or in-person at our Vancouver and Port Moody locations.
While burnout and depression can share similar symptoms like exhaustion and hopelessness, burnout is specifically related to chronic workplace or life stress, whereas depression is a broader mental health condition. Burnout typically improves when the stressful situation changes, while depression may persist regardless of circumstances. However, untreated burnout can lead to depression. Our individual counselling approach addresses both the systemic causes of burnout and any co-occurring mental health concerns, helping you understand which symptoms relate to your circumstances versus broader mental health patterns.
Absolutely. Our burnout counselling in Vancouver and Port Moody specifically addresses workplace-related stress, including toxic work environments, discrimination, and systemic pressures. We understand that many people experience burnout due to being the “only one” in their workplace, constant code-switching, or working in environments that don’t align with their values. We help you develop strategies for navigating difficult workplace dynamics, setting boundaries, and protecting your wellbeing while recognizing that the problem isn’t you – it’s often the system. We also support you in making informed decisions about your career path and work-life integration.
Yes, we have a distinct approach for supporting healthcare workers, therapists, social workers, teachers, and other helping professionals who experience unique forms of burnout. We understand the emotional labor, secondary trauma, and systemic pressures that come with caring professions. Our approach addresses compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and the challenge of maintaining boundaries while providing care to others. We also offer clinical supervision for mental health professionals seeking anti-oppressive support in their practice.
We recognize that burnout often stems from navigating systems of oppression, discrimination, and marginalization. Our anti-oppressive approach acknowledges how racism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and other forms of systemic harm contribute to burnout, especially for SDQTBIPOC+ individuals. We don’t pathologize your response to oppressive systems – instead, we help you understand your burnout in context, develop strategies for resistance and resilience, and connect with your community and cultural strengths. Our team of counsellors brings lived experience and specialized training in working with marginalized communities.
Your first session begins with a free 15-minute consultation where we’ll discuss your specific burnout experience and match you with the right counsellor. In your first full session, we’ll explore what’s bringing you to therapy, your current stress levels, work situation, and how burnout is impacting your daily life. We’ll also discuss your goals and what support looks like for you. There’s no pressure to share more than feels comfortable, and we’ll work at your pace. Sessions are 50 minutes and can be virtual or in-person at our Vancouver or Port Moody offices.
Yes, absolutely. We understand that not everyone has the privilege of leaving their job or reducing their workload due to financial constraints, visa requirements, or other circumstances. Our approach focuses on changing your relationship with work, developing sustainable coping strategies, setting micro-boundaries, and finding moments of alignment and meaning within your current situation. We also help you identify small changes that might be possible and support you in planning for longer-term changes when they become feasible. The goal is to reduce the harm of your current situation while building resilience and clarity about your path forward.
Yes, burnout often manifests physically through symptoms like chronic fatigue, headaches, insomnia, digestive issues, muscle tension, and frequent illness. Our somatic therapy approach specifically addresses how chronic stress and burnout are held in the body. We help you understand your body’s signals, develop nervous system regulation skills, and use body-based interventions to support healing. While we work alongside your medical team, we focus on the mind-body connection and how addressing burnout can support your overall physical wellbeing and energy restoration.
Yes, we work with entrepreneurs, business owners, and freelancers who experience unique forms of burnout related to the pressure of running a business, financial stress, isolation, and the challenge of wearing multiple hats. We understand the additional pressures faced by BIPOC and marginalized entrepreneurs navigating business systems that weren’t designed for them. Our approach includes business consulting elements, helping you align your business practices with your values while maintaining sustainable work habits and boundaries.
Recovery from burnout varies greatly depending on the severity, how long you’ve been experiencing it, and your life circumstances. Some people notice improvements in energy and mood within a few weeks of starting therapy, while deeper healing and sustainable changes typically take 3-6 months or longer. Recovery isn’t always linear – you might have good days and difficult days. We focus on building sustainable practices and making gradual shifts rather than expecting immediate transformation. Book a consultation to discuss your specific situation and realistic timelines for your recovery journey.
Many people have had therapy experiences that focused on individual coping strategies without addressing the systemic factors contributing to burnout. If you were told to “just manage stress better” or “practice more self-care” without examining the broader context of your burnout, our approach is different. We look at both individual and systemic factors, validate your experience, and work together to find strategies that actually fit your life and circumstances. Our justice-oriented approach recognizes that burnout is often a reasonable response to unreasonable demands, and healing requires more than individual solutions.
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.
Yes, we provide secure, confidential virtual burnout counselling sessions to clients throughout British Columbia. Virtual sessions can be particularly helpful for burnout recovery as they eliminate commute time and allow you to access support from the comfort of your own space. Our virtual platform is HIPAA-compliant and easy to use. Many clients find virtual sessions just as effective as in-person therapy, and you can always switch between virtual and in-person sessions at our Vancouver and Port Moody locations based on your needs and energy levels.
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.
Get Matched
We offer direct billing to select insurance providers & funded programs. Start with a free 15-minute video conversation or get your personalized recommendations straight to your inbox, with this 3-minute form.
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.
