A lot of the guys I work with in therapy are high achievers at the top of their game who’ve suddenly experienced an onset of stress. Whether related to their work or the obligations waiting for them at home, their stress is making them feel hopeless, defensive, overwhelmed, and unsatisfied.

If this sounds like your experience, it probably feels like you have a low tolerance for just about everything these days. Your patience—for your partner, coworkers, or kids—is running thin, and your temper is quicker than usual. You’ve become increasingly resentful of all the demands placed on you, causing you to avoid and withdraw from the relationships and activities that once motivated you.

Feeling stuck and disconnected. Maybe you’re looking for more escapes like mindless scrolling, over-exercise, or substance use. Maybe you’re putting your goals and dreams on the back burner because you just can’t deal right now. You’re sick of feeling trapped and caught in the stress cycle, yet you don’t see a way out.

A therapist can teach you how to target stress so you can live the life you want instead of going through the motions of what you think you should be doing. Through this process, you can understand how stress is limiting you and what a real definition of success looks like for your life.

It can be hard to convince professional, driven, high-achieving guys that therapy is a good option for them. As men, we’re usually not inclined to put a high value on emotional exploration and intelligence. Instead, we’re taught to derive worth from our career successes and income.

As a result, many of the clients I work with in therapy wonder why, even though they did everything they were supposed to, they still feel empty. They’ve checked the boxes of a high-paying job, a capable, loving partner, a diverse skill set, and maybe even a family of their own—yet they’re unsatisfied and tired of going through the motions of doing what’s expected of them.

I know you’re used to just pushing through or suffering in silence; after all, that’s what men have been conditioned to do since the dawn of time. But the therapy process challenges the beliefs that are keeping you stuck, including the belief that you’re failing, that rest equals weakness, and that avoiding tough emotions is the best way of managing them. 

Let’s work together to identify what’s really causing you stress and how to overcome your struggles with actionable skills that will last you for life.

My counseling services are tailored to each client’s unique goals and existing skill sets. Depending on what skills you’re looking to implement through therapy, I may incorporate mindfulness techniques to mitigate overthinking and reduce stress, as well as communication strategies to reduce conflict. I am also likely to draw on evidence-based approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing, to target your specific challenges.

Regardless of the approaches we use, a big aspect of therapy is exploring what your definition of success looks like and how that definition may be keeping you in a cycle of stress and disappointment.

As we better understand how core beliefs may be hindering your progress, we can work on challenging unhelpful narratives and implementing long-term behavioral change. Looking at the outcomes you really desire—versus what you think is expected of you—we can begin to align your goals and values in a way that feels authentic, ultimately working toward the life you actually want.