What is the Best Therapy for Burnout?

"There isn't one best therapy for burnout -there are a number of good options and the best one for you will depend on your specific needs, situation, reasons for burning out and severity of your symptoms. I'm a licenced psychologist and in this article I outline five evidence-based therapies and how each one could help. If you are in functional burnout, it means you are struggling with the symptoms but managing to push through somehow."

"You know you've hit clinical burnout however, when your body cannot push through anymore, forcing a stop for you. Someone in this stage might be off work sick, struggling to get out of bed, have physical ailments, panic attacks and so on. Therapies to get stable again If you are struggling to function then you need to start with a therapy that is less analytical and more practical so you can:"

"Helpful therapies at this point are behaviour therapies - both Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (the skills training in DBT) can help to increase healthy behaviours (structuring your day, eating well, exercising, seeing friends) and decrease the problematic behaviours (the escapism behaviours that feel good in the moment but are actually making things worse, such as doom-scrolling, drinking"

Therapy choice for burnout should be individualized and matched to symptom severity and causes. Functional burnout involves ongoing strain while still managing to push through, often with exhaustion, disconnection, and denial. Clinical burnout occurs when the body forces a stop, presenting with inability to work, trouble getting out of bed, physical symptoms, or panic attacks. Initial treatment for impaired functioning should prioritize practical stabilization: rebuilding social support, nutrition, movement, daily structure, and workplace advocacy or support. Behavioural therapies like CBT and DBT skills training restore healthy habits and reduce escapism. Subsequent therapies that address underlying psychological patterns help prevent recurrence of burnout.

Read at Psychology Today