Sunday evening has become the worst part of your week. You spend it rehearsing Monday: the inbox, the deadline, the meeting you are dreading. By Monday morning you are already tired.
Work stress is one of the most common reasons people contact us. Difficult bosses, demanding jobs, and conflict with colleagues are the first things Dr. Mason names when he describes what he sees most often. You are far from the only one.
What this looks like
Some of it is the situation: a manager who messages at 10pm and expects a reply, a workload built for two people, a colleague who undermines you in meetings, or one you simply can’t get along with.
Some of it is what the situation is doing to you. You wake at 3am mentally drafting emails. You snap at people over small things, then feel guilty. You drink a little more than you meant to, because it is the only thing that slows your head down.
If you moved here for the job, there is an extra layer. Your visa is tied to your employer, and the move was supposed to be the achievement, so complaining can feel like admitting a mistake. Back home you might have vented to a friend with no stake in it. Here, friends and colleagues are often the same people, so honesty feels risky.
When it’s worth getting help
A hard month at work is normal. It’s worth a conversation when hard months turn out to be the default setting, when the stress follows you home, or when the way you are coping starts to worry you more than the workload does.
Plenty of people come in without a diagnosis, and without anything they’d call a crisis. You might call it burnout, or just the job getting to you. Either is a reasonable thing to bring to a therapist. Most people who come in for this are still performing well at work. They come because it is costing them too much.
What happens when you get in touch
You can call, or send a message. The first message commits you to nothing. You can describe a little of what is going on, ask a question, and decide from there whether to meet.
If you come in, you will meet Dr. Mason, an American psychotherapist with over 20 years in practice, 14 of them in Bangkok, much of it with expats in demanding jobs. The first session is mostly you talking and him listening: what the situation is, what you have tried, what you would like to be different. Together you work out what to focus on and how often to meet.
One thing worth knowing: a counseling room sits outside your professional world. Dr. Mason is not part of your company, your industry, or anyone’s network, and what you say in a session is treated as confidential. You can say the things you can’t say to a boss, a colleague, or anyone you might run into at dinner.
Privacy, plainly stated
What you tell us stays with us.
What you share is protected under the same professional confidentiality standards that govern licensed psychologists and counsellors. We don’t confirm to anyone, including family or employers, that you’re a client here.
If you’d rather not share your full name at first, that’s fine, tell us what to call you and we’ll go from there. Read more about confidentiality
Get in touch
Reach out, at your own pace.
A message here doesn’t commit you to anything. Ask a question, describe what’s going on, or just say hello, we’ll take it from there.