Stress and Burnout

Chronic stress and burnout can leave you feeling exhausted, disconnected, and depleted – whether it’s work-related pressure, life changes, or ongoing demands taking their toll. If stress is affecting your wellbeing and you’re ready to develop better ways of managing it, counselling can help.

What is Stress and Burnout?

Stress is your body’s response to demands and pressures. In small doses, it can help you perform and meet challenges. But when stress becomes chronic – when demands keep coming without enough recovery time – it can lead to burnout: a state of physical and emotional exhaustion accompanied by reduced effectiveness and cynicism. Burnout often develops gradually. You might notice you’re working longer hours but getting less done. Things that used to energise you feel draining. You feel cynical about your work or responsibilities. Your mood dips, your patience wears thin, and you’re running on empty. Physical symptoms might appear – tension, sleep issues, frequent colds – because stress affects your whole system.

How It Might Affect You

Chronic stress and burnout ripple into many areas of your life. Work productivity and satisfaction drop, even as you’re putting in more effort. You might feel irritable with colleagues, family, or friends, even though the issue isn’t really with them. Sleep suffers. Energy plummets. Physical health can be affected – tension headaches, stomach issues, or a weakened immune system. The emotional impact is significant. You might feel cynical, resentful, or hopeless about your situation. Relationships suffer because you have little energy left for connection. You might withdraw or snap at people you care about. The pressure to keep pushing can make it hard to admit you’re struggling. The good news is that with support, many people develop strategies to reduce stress, reset their boundaries, and rebuild their sense of wellbeing and purpose.

Our Approach to Stress and Burnout

Working with a psychologist at Growth Psychology, you’ll find a space dedicated to understanding your specific stressors and developing practical strategies to manage them. We help you identify the sources of your stress and what might be within your control to change. We explore strategies for managing demands more effectively, setting boundaries, and protecting time for recovery and things that matter to you. Many people benefit from strength-based approaches that help you reconnect with your values and what brings meaning to your work or life. Mindfulness and stress management techniques can help you build resilience. Your psychologist will work with you to understand the patterns that led to burnout and develop a sustainable approach to work, relationships, and self-care. This might involve practical changes, shifts in perspective, or simply having space to process what you’re experiencing. Learn more about our therapeutic approaches.

When to Seek Help

If stress is affecting your health, relationships, or sense of wellbeing – or if you’re noticing signs of burnout – it’s worth reaching out sooner rather than later. Support now can prevent things from becoming more serious and help you find your way back to balance more quickly.

Ask about our Stress and Burnout services.

If you’d like to explore how therapy might help, we’re here to talk through your needs.

Enquire today

Our practicitioners with a focus on Stress and Burnout

Lara Patty - Psychologist

Lara is a registered Psychologist who offers a warm, collaborative, and emotionally grounded approach to therapy. She supports adolescents (16+) and adults across experiences such as anxiety, depression, stress, identity concerns, relationship and attachment patterns, the impacts of difficult childhood experiences, and life transitions. Lara integrates evidence‑informed approaches—including Schema Therapy, CBT, and ACT—to help clients explore their inner world and develop compassionate, authentic ways of relating to themselves and others.

Carolyn Alchin - Career Development Practitioner

Carolyn is an experienced career development practitioner and counsellor with a Masters of Education (Career Development). She enjoys enabling all populations to see, reach, and enhance their career potential. She has over 20 years’ practical experience in mentoring, recruitment, advising and counselling, teaching and education development.

Berni Cooper - Wellbeing Strategist & Educator

Berni is a professional coach with a Master of Applied Positive Psychology and a Bachelor of Social Sciences Hons (Psychology). She has over 15 years’ experience in coaching, mentoring, advising and training.

Shelley Phillips - Psychologist

Shelley Phillips is a registered Psychologist who offers a warm, caring, and evidence‑informed approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing. She draws on CBT, ACT, Positive Psychology, and strengths‑based practices to help clients explore challenges in life and work. Shelley also supports clients navigating job selection processes, career development, and workplace stress. She has experience working with emergency services personnel and has worked as a psychology lecturer, mentor, and supervisor.

Gregory Dean - Endorsed Counselling Psychologist

Greg is an Endorsed Counselling Psychologist with more than thirty years of experience supporting people across a wide range of life challenges. He works collaboratively with clients to explore the impact of past experiences, strengthen emotional wellbeing, and navigate patterns that influence relationships and daily life. Greg uses evidence‑informed approaches tailored to each person’s needs. Greg has worked in counselling and psychotherapy private practice in metropolitan centres and remote rural areas, in schools, government organisations, emergency services, military veterans’ organisations and in industry. He has also worked as an academic, teacher and in management and specialist roles in the mining industry.

Rita Mesch - Psychologist

Rita is a registered teacher and Psychologist who offers a supportive, non‑judgemental space for clients experiencing depression, anxiety, stress, grief, difficult or traumatic events, life transitions, and relationship concerns. She works from a Process‑Oriented Psychology framework, helping clients explore inner experiences and the patterns that influence wellbeing and personal growth.

Beth Keane - Psychologist - Practice Owner

Beth is a registered Psychologist who supports adults across a range of wellbeing and mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, life transitions, and career‑related challenges. She draws on CBT, ACT, Schema‑informed strategies, and strengths‑based, person‑centred approaches. Beth also provides services under Queensland emergency services support programs and works in training, development, and career‑related support.