Psychotherapy for Work-Related Stress
Understand the Pressure Behind Your Working Life
Work can be rewarding and fulfilling, but it can also become a source of persistent stress, anxiety and self-doubt.
Psychotherapy offers space to explore how professional pressures interact with your emotional patterns, expectations and sense of self.
When Work Begins to Affect Your Wellbeing
You may be experiencing:
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Difficulty switching off or leaving work concerns behind.
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Fear of making mistakes, criticism or disappointing others.
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Taking on excessive responsibility and struggling to establish boundaries.
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Anxiety around performance, professional relationships or career decisions.
Psychotherapy for Work-Related Stress in Basingstoke
Stress at work is not always about workload alone. How you react to pressure can also depend on what you learned growing up about work, mistakes and approval. A child who was praised mainly for achieving, for example, can grow into an adult who finds it hard to leave a task unfinished.
My approach combines psychodynamic psychotherapy, which looks at how your past experiences affect how you handle things today, with somatic awareness, which means paying attention to what happens in your body when you are under pressure.
Our work focuses on:
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Looking at where the pressure comes from: the workload, a manager who keeps changing priorities, and the standard you hold yourself to on top of both.
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Looking at what you do under pressure: staying late to redo work that was already good, saying yes when you mean no, rehearsing an email for an hour before sending it.
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Paying attention to your body: a tight jaw or shoulders in meetings, a racing mind at 3am, evenings when you cannot switch off.
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Trying different responses: asking for clarity on a deadline, disagreeing in a meeting, making a decision without checking it with three people first.
What Happens During a Psychotherapy Session?
Sessions are private and confidential. You can talk about work as it really is, without worrying how it sounds.
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Your situation at work: we begin with what is happening, such as a difficult manager, a new role or a workload that keeps growing, and what you would like to change.
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How you react to authority and feedback: we look at what happens when a manager criticises your work, adds to your workload or disagrees with you, and where those reactions come from.
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What stress does to you: we notice what happens in your body and mind before a meeting, after a difficult email, or on a Sunday evening.
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Trying something different: we work out what you can do differently, such as raising a concern earlier, setting a limit on what you take on, or making a decision without second-guessing it for days.
We decide together what to work on, and the pace is set around your circumstances.
How Many Sessions Will I Need?
This depends on what you are dealing with and what you want to change.
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Session length: 50 minutes.
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Frequency: usually weekly.
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Length of therapy: we agree it together and review it as we go.
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Availability: in person in Basingstoke or online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can psychotherapy help with work-related stress?
Yes. Psychotherapy can help you understand why work affects you the way it does and find different ways of responding to pressure. It can also help you tell apart what comes from you and what comes from the workplace itself.
Can psychotherapy help with perfectionism at work?
Yes. Therapy can look at what sits behind perfectionism, such as needing approval or being afraid of failing. Understanding where that comes from can help you criticise yourself less and let some things be good enough.
Can therapy help if my work environment is causing the problem?
Yes. Psychotherapy can help you work out how a difficult workplace is affecting you, what you need, and what your options are. It does not replace changes to the workplace or practical action where conditions are harmful.
Can psychotherapy help with anxiety around colleagues or managers?
Yes. Therapy can help you understand why certain people, such as a critical manager or a difficult colleague, make you anxious, and how to deal with them with more confidence.
What Could Change Through Psychotherapy?
You may begin to:
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Finish the day without replaying the conversation with your manager.
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Say no to an extra task without spending the evening justifying it to yourself.
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Take criticism, use what is useful, and let the rest go without it taking over your week.
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Notice earlier when pressure is building: the tight chest, the shorter temper, the Sunday dread.
Psychotherapy in Basingstoke and Online
I’m Paula Miles, a psychotherapist based in Basingstoke, Hampshire.
I work with adults who are dealing with work-related stress, anxiety and perfectionism, and who find themselves reacting to work situations the same way again and again.
My approach combines psychodynamic psychotherapy with attention to what happens in your body.
You can get to know me more here
Book a Free Initial Consultation
Contact me to talk about your situation, ask how I work and find out whether psychotherapy is right for you.