At the former Burnout Foundation I worked as a Senior Burnout Specialist for Expats.

When the foundation went "off-line", I continued this work as a freelance.

From all parts of the world, I now receive Expats with a burnout in an office in Amsterdam or Utrecht.

Dire as the situation is upon application, after 8-12 sessions they are back on their feet and can continue their careers.

A burnout is not an "ordinary" mental illness. According to the WHO, it is a condition caused by "chronic work stress, which is not well managed" (by the employer).

Burnout is characterized by three dimensions:

- feeling of physical and mental exhaustion;

- increasing mental distance from one's job;

- reduced (professional) skills and concentration.

There are many physical and mental complaints that (could) be the cause or result of a burnout, but the cause is almost always work-related. According to the UWV, an employer is therefore responsible for the recovery of the employee.

The burnout often lasts for months or even years before a client comes for help (the -unfortunately- well-known "Frog in boiling water").

Because burnout is not recognized as a mental illness, it is not 'therefore' in the DSM-V (the 'bible' for psychologists). The result is that a treatment is not reimbursed by the insurance. The employer should pay. Unfortunately that is not always the case.

My rates are therefore very fair, even if the client pays for it himself.

In my therapy I have a number of phases:

- Acknowledgement: accept that you have a burnout!

- Recognition: when do the signs/symptoms occur?

- Stimuli Control: if you recognize the 'triggers', you can control them (coping).

- Control: you are in charge of your thoughts; you can deal with them.

It is hard work for the client, with a lot of exercises and it will work out in the end.

At first it seemed as if the client walked into a cave with bats, rats, and venomous snakes.

In the end it turns out to be a tunnel, where there is light at the end!

The special English-language website for Expats with (a suspicion of) a Burnout:

www.PsychologistBurnout.nl