For people running on empty
Burnout and stress counselling in Victoria and Mill Bay, BC
If you’re exhausted before the day starts, snapping at people you love or feeling numb about work you used to care about, you don’t have to wait until you hit a wall. Counselling helps you recover your energy and change the patterns that wore you down.
- In person or online
- Rates from $35 an hour
- Direct billing
- Evenings and Saturdays
Is it stress, or is it burnout?
Stress usually feels like too much: too many demands, too little time. Burnout feels more like nothing left. A weekend off doesn’t fix it, and you may not notice how far it’s gone until your body or the people around you point it out.
- Waking up tired no matter how much you sleep
- Dreading Monday from Saturday afternoon
- Feeling detached or cynical about work you used to care about
- A shorter fuse with your partner, kids or coworkers
- Brain fog, forgetting things or rereading the same email three times
- Getting sick more often, or headaches and tight shoulders that won’t let up
- Numbing out at night with your phone, TV or a drink just to switch off
- Saying yes to everything, then resenting it
Burnout and stress we help with
Burnout doesn’t only come from a job. It builds wherever you give more than you get back for long enough. If your situation isn’t listed here, bring it to your free consultation.
Work burnout
Heavy workloads, long hours, a difficult manager or a job that never really ends when you log off.
Leadership and work pressure
Carrying responsibility for a team or a business, making hard calls and having nowhere to set it down.
Burnout in caring professions
Healthcare, teaching, social services and first response, where you hold other people’s pain all day and have little left for your own.
Caregiver burnout
Looking after an aging parent, a partner who’s unwell or a child with extra needs, often on top of a job.
Parent burnout
The mental load of running a household, feeling touched-out and losing track of who you are outside of parenting.
Prenatal and postpartum counsellingADHD, autism and high sensitivity
The exhaustion that comes from masking, managing a world that isn’t built for how your brain works, or taking everything in at full volume.
When burnout turns into something more
Long stretches of burnout can slide into anxiety or depression. We help with both, often at the same time.
Depression counsellingOur approaches
How our counsellors work with burnout
Rest helps, but if nothing else changes, burnout tends to come back. Counselling works on both: getting your nervous system out of overdrive, and the habits and beliefs that keep you running on empty.
Somatic parts therapy
Burnout lives in the body as much as the mind. This helps a nervous system that’s been stuck on high alert learn to settle and recover.
About somatic parts therapyInternal Family Systems (IFS)
Gets to know the part of you that can’t rest, can’t say no or needs everything done perfectly, and what it’s afraid would happen if it stopped.
About IFSCognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
Spots the thinking that drives overwork, like “if I don’t do it, no one will,” and builds realistic routines for rest, sleep and limits.
About CBTDialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
Practical skills for getting through high-stress days, and for asking for what you need and saying no without guilt taking over.
About DBTOur counsellors also draw on Compassionate Inquiry and mindfulness, along with simple practices you can fit into a workday, like short resets between meetings.
What to expect
What burnout counselling looks like with us
You don’t need to be off work or at a breaking point to start. Many people come in while still juggling everything, and evening and Saturday sessions make that easier. You and your counsellor check progress together as you go.
Book a free 20-minute consult-
Free 20-minute consultation
A short online call to talk about what’s going on, ask questions and get matched with a counsellor. No cost and no commitment.
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Mapping what’s draining you
In your first session, you look at where your energy goes, what refills it and what’s been pushed aside. Together you set goals you’d notice in daily life.
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Getting some relief
Early sessions focus on steadying things: sleep, small boundaries and ways to come down from a stressful day instead of carrying it to bed.
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Changing the pattern
Next, you work on what led here, like people-pleasing, perfectionism or a sense that your worth depends on how much you do.
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Switch if it’s not a fit
If you don’t click with your counsellor, we’ll match you with someone else at no cost.
Why people choose Strength in Heart for burnout counselling
Mind and body
We work with the physical toll of burnout as well as the thinking behind it, so recovery goes deeper than a to-do list of self-care.
Rates from $35 an hour
Sessions with intern counsellors start at $35 an hour. Registered counsellor rates are listed on our rates page.
Direct billing
We bill ICBC, VAC, CVAP, FNHA and MCC directly, and provide receipts for extended health claims. How direct billing works
Evenings and Saturdays
Sessions run Monday to Saturday, with evening appointments, so you can get support without taking more time off work.
Victoria, Mill Bay or online
See us at our Fort Street office in Victoria, at the Mill Bay Centre, or online by video or phone. Online sessions fit easily into a lunch break.
Free rematching
If your counsellor isn’t the right fit, we’ll match you with someone else at no cost. Our whole team is 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming.
Meet the counsellors who offer burnout and stress counselling
Read our counsellors’ bios to see their training and who feels like a good fit for you.
Not sure who to choose? Answer a few questions and we’ll match you.
Questions about burnout and stress counselling
What’s the difference between stress and burnout?
Stress usually means too many demands and a feeling of urgency, and it often eases when the pressure lets up. Burnout is what can happen after long-term stress: deep exhaustion, feeling detached or cynical, and a sense that nothing you do makes a difference. Counselling helps with both.
Do I need to be off work to start counselling?
No. Most people start while they’re still working. We offer evening and Saturday sessions, and online sessions you can join from home or on a lunch break.
Can counselling help if I’m on stress leave?
Yes. Counselling during a leave can help you recover, understand what led to burnout and plan how to go back in a way that’s sustainable. Your doctor handles the medical side of a leave.
Is burnout the same as depression?
They overlap, and long-term burnout can lead to depression or anxiety. Your counsellor can help you sort out what’s going on. If you notice low mood that doesn’t lift even when you rest, it’s also worth talking to your doctor.
How many sessions will I need?
It depends on how long you’ve been running on empty and what’s driving it. Some people feel a real shift within a handful of sessions, while others stay longer to work on deeper patterns. Your counsellor checks progress with you regularly.
How much does burnout counselling cost?
Sessions with intern counsellors start at $35 an hour. Rates for registered counsellors are listed on our rates page. Your first 20-minute consultation is free.
Is burnout counselling covered by my benefits?
Many workplace extended health plans cover counselling with a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) or Registered Social Worker (RSW), so check which credentials your plan covers. We also direct bill ICBC, VAC, CVAP, FNHA and MCC. See direct billing for details.