The referral pathways guide
Read with intention
Meet the cliniciansBurnout, and the way back.
Burnout is exhaustion that rest alone does not fix. It builds from long-term stress at work or in caring roles. Psychology can help you recover at your own pace and change what needs changing.
Running on empty.
The World Health Organization describes burnout by three signs that come together, and it often reaches home as well:
Exhaustion
Tired most of the time, even after a weekend or a holiday.
Distance and cynicism
Feeling detached from your work or the people you care for, or more negative than you used to be.
Doing less, doubting more
Struggling to concentrate or get things done, and feeling less capable than before.
Effects at home
Irritability, poor sleep and less energy for family, friends and the things you enjoy.
- Long-term pressureDemands stay high and recovery time shrinks.
- Running on reservesPushing harder, skipping breaks and sleep.
- Exhaustion and distanceTired all the time, and feeling detached.
- Doing less, doubting moreWork feels harder and confidence drops.
Recovery, step by step.
- Working out what drives the burnout: workload, values, control, support, or a mix
- Rest and recovery that actually restores you, including sleep
- Boundaries, priorities and saying no, at work and at home
- Planning a return to work, or a change, if that is what you need
Burnout can overlap with depression or anxiety, so your psychologist will check for these too. See stress and burnout and our burnout guide.
How it usually runs.
Sessions are 50 minutes, in Parramatta or by telehealth.
- 1
Understanding your burnout
Your psychologist asks about your work, your load and how you are coping, and what you would like to be different.
Early sessions - 2
Making changes
Together you plan small, practical changes and look at how they go.
The sessions that follow - 3
Practice between sessions
Short exercises to try at home, which you go through together at the next session.
Ongoing
Clinicians who can help.
These clinicians list burnout among their areas of practice.
Bülent Ada
Principal Psychologist & Director
English · Turkish
Sijal Ansari
Clinical Psychologist
English · Hindi · Urdu
Taline Bardakjian
Consultant Psychologist
English
Michael L. T. Cheung
Consultant Psychologist
English · Cantonese · Mandarin
Irfan Yigit
Senior Consultant Psychologist
English · Turkish
Annette Haggerty
Consultant Psychologist
English
Fees and other options.
With a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP, Medicare pays a rebate for each individual session and there is usually a gap. Our fees are set out before you book.
Check in with yourself.
Free, private tools to try before or alongside sessions. They are not a diagnosis.
Free · 5 to 10 min
Take the Mind Health Check
Short questionnaires, scored privately in your browser. We have ticked the ones most related to this page, and you can change them.
Fact sheet: Stress and burnout
A plain-language guide with practical steps. Free to download.
Try this week
- Choose one task this week to drop, hand over or do less perfectly.
- Protect a short break in the middle of each working day.
- Set a finish time for work, and a small routine that marks the end of the day.
Need help now? Our urgent help page has who to call, day and night.
Before you book, answered.
What is burnout?
How is burnout different from stress?
How is burnout different from depression?
Is burnout a mental health condition?
When should I seek help?
Do I need time off work?
Do I need a referral?
Can I have sessions by telehealth?
Take the first step, at your pace.
Tell us a little about what is going on. We will suggest a clinician and a time.
