Kristen Pribanich (she/her)

As someone who specializes in career burnout, uncertainty is a huge underlier in the challenges my clients are experiencing. Hello anxiety! Underneath burnout symptoms, there might be a core belief of "not good enough" or a comparison trap you get caught in where you compare yourself to colleagues/a version of yourself you thought you'd be. I'll teach you to notice and name the anxiety without overidentifying with it. Then we address the burnout and make changes based on your core values.

I've seen burnout in different fields/levels of career and it boils down to a few areas of focus: 1. Boundaries 2. Values Misalignment 3. Self-Compassion 4. Scarcity Mindset 5. Unhooking from Comparison. Most of my clients can name that they're experiencing burnout, but they don't know how to get out. By looking at these five areas, we can start to identify actionable steps and create a plan that is personalized to your goals.

For many high-achieving individuals, career is an integral part of self-identity. We expect career trajectory to be linear and for most people, it isn't that at all! A typical career counseling approach integrates this mentality and examines values, strengths, interests to ensure career is in line with how you naturally feel, think, and behave. While I, too take this approach, I also integrate systemic barriers, mental health, and mindset to provide a more holistic view.

I integrate this approach for clients who are interested in exploring their inner world/understanding the nuances around resistance and/or impact of early experiences on functioning. For instance, a client may have a driven "Achiever" part pushing them to work excessively, causing burnout. Through IFS, we can identify this part, understand its motivations, and unburden it. This process reduces stress, restores motivation, and fosters a healthier approach to work/life balance.

I offer separate coaching services for clients who are still needing support, just not in a capacity that deems medical necessity (AKA a diagnosis). Coaching offers a more directive approach and incorporates career assessments, reviewing documents (resume, cover letter, LinkedIn), interview preparation. In this capacity, we may talk about the impact mental health has on job searching, but I am not providing you with a diagnosis or treating the mental health diagnosis.

ACT is my go-to approach and can be used to address burnout by guiding clients to accept their emotions and circumstances, then commit to actions aligned with their values. For instance, I work with clients overwhelmed by work stress to embrace their feelings without judgment, clarify what truly matters to them (like work-life balance), and take concrete steps towards those goals, fostering resilience and a healthier relationship with work.