Burnout in men Copenhagen
Help when your work has become who you are and it is breaking you
I help you recover and find a way of being a man that is not all output
- Last updated October 16, 2026
What I want men with burnout to know
In this short video, I explain why burnout hits men who define themselves by their work so hard, and what recovery asks of you beyond rest.
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At a glance
Burnout in men Copenhagen helps men who have run on duty, ambition and adrenaline for so long that body and mind have started to say no. Therapy happens one to one, in 1-hour appointments with 50 minutes of therapy, in English or Danish, at my practice in central Copenhagen or online.
I help you recover at a pace that holds, understand why your worth became tied to your work and build a life you do not need to escape from. This page belongs under depression in men, within my psychotherapy for men. My general page on burnout therapy covers burnout for anyone, while this one is about how it shows up in men and what helps them come back.
If you want to talk first, request a free discovery call. Otherwise book a session, read my client policy or send me a message.
Is this the right page for you?
This is for you if…
Burnout in men Copenhagen is for men whose work, drive or sense of responsibility has worn them down to the point where they no longer function as they did. You may be on sick leave, or still going in and hiding how bad it is. You want to recover properly and make sure it does not happen again.
- You used to handle pressure better than anyone, and now a simple email can make your heart race or your mind go blank.
- You are on sick leave and feel like a fraud, as if a real man would simply have pushed through.
- You sleep 10 hours and still wake exhausted, with a heavy head and no wish at all to face the day.
- You have forgotten things at work you would never have missed before, and it frightens you more than you admit.
- Your identity has always been about being the one who delivers, and you have no idea who you are without that.
- You snap at your children when they make noise in the evening, then lie awake feeling guilty about it.
- You keep telling yourself you will slow down after this project, but there has always been another project.
- Your body is protesting with headaches, a tight chest or a churning stomach, and you have ignored it for months.
This is probably not for you if…
Burnout overlaps with other struggles, and some need a different emphasis. If one of these describes you better, the linked page will help more.
- You want to look at your life as a man more broadly, not only work and exhaustion. → psychotherapy for men
- You have just collapsed, been signed off or had a frightening episode, and need help this week. → acute psychotherapy
- You want a planned block of sessions over a few days at the start of your leave. → back-to-back psychotherapy
- Your relationship is at breaking point because of your work, and your partner is willing to come. → couples therapy
- You are new to Denmark, and the pressure of an expat job is what wore you down. → expat psychotherapy
- ADHD makes working life exhausting, and you want help that takes it into account. → ADHD psychotherapy
- Exhaustion is not the main thing, and what you feel is mostly flatness, irritability or numbness. → depression in men
- You are in immediate danger, or you are thinking about ending your life. Please call 112, or 1813 for urgent mental health help in the Capital Region.
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Client reviews
The reviews shown here are shared by clients who have worked with me in therapy and chosen to reflect on their experience. They are collected via Google and displayed through an independent verification service, offering an open and transparent picture of how my work is experienced.
Mark’s view
“Over more than 15,000 clinical hours, I have come to believe that burnout in men is rarely just a problem of workload. It is a problem of worth. A man who has measured himself by output for decades cannot simply rest, because rest feels like disappearing. Underneath, I hear one voice asking ‘If I stop delivering, will anyone still want me around?’ and another saying ‘Just give me space, I will get myself back on my feet.’ Some men live with both at once: ‘Look after me, but do not see me like this.’ Recovery begins when you stop treating your exhaustion as a performance problem.”
Mark Colclough, MA, psychotherapist and EFT couples therapist
Meet Mark, psychotherapist and EFT couples therapist
I am Mark Colclough, MA, a psychotherapist and EFT couples therapist specialising in expats and international couples. I work in English and Danish, from my practice in central Copenhagen and online.
Practising since 2004, I bring a bicultural perspective to work with individuals and couples across languages and cultural contexts. My work integrates depth-oriented psychotherapy with approaches such as integral psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy, Jungian psychoanalysis, and object relations theory. I also have specialist training in attachment theory, narcissism, and borderline personality disorder.
For support with life between cultures, explore expat psychotherapy or expat couples therapy. My practice is supported by ongoing training and supervision. To read more about my background, training, and approach, visit About me.
The importance of supervision
Good therapy begins with good supervision
I regularly meet with experienced senior psychotherapists in Denmark and abroad to reflect on my work, challenge my thinking, and continue developing my skills. This ongoing process supports the quality of my individual and couples therapy, helping me offer thoughtful, ethical, and effective care.
My focus is simple: excellence, integrity, and impact.
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If you want me to call you ASAP, or if you want to book me, use the buttons below.
You are welcome to get in touch. We can clarify what’s the right therapy for you.
You can also send me an email
A typical situation
Rasmus is 42, a partner in a law firm, married with 2 sons. For 3 years he answered emails at 6 in the morning and again after the boys were asleep. In August he froze in the middle of a client meeting and could not find his next sentence. His GP signed him off. Now he cleans the flat obsessively, checks his work phone in secret and cannot read a novel for more than a page.
I would start with the moment he froze, and what he has been carrying that his body finally refused to carry. In our first session, Rasmus would probably see that the hardest part of being signed off is not tiredness but the question of who he is without his work. That question is where real recovery begins.
I have presented this clinical example as a compound of 22 years of clinical practice.
This is when you need therapy for burnout in men with me
You have kept delivering long after it stopped making sense, and now your body is doing the talking.
There is no right time or reason to start, and you do not have to collapse first. If you sense that you are running on fumes, that work has swallowed the rest of your life or that your body is sending warnings you keep ignoring, that is reason enough. You do not need a diagnosis or a doctor’s note to see me. In 22 years of practice, I have sat with many men who called it stress until they could no longer get out of bed, and I recognise the point at which pressure has become burnout.
In sessions, I usually begin by helping you see what has actually happened, what keeps it going and what must change for you to recover. These 6 questions may help you decide.
Do tasks you once did in your sleep now take everything you have?
If so, take it seriously. Burnout in men often starts with small failures of capacity that you hide. You read the same page 3 times, forget a name in a meeting, need a coffee and a pep talk to open your inbox.
I would look at how long this has been building, what the warning signs were and what you did with them. That tells us whether you need a change of pace or a deeper reckoning with how you work and why. Recognise yourself? Then book a session with me. My article on burnout symptoms describes the signs in more detail.
Does part of you want to quit everything while another part cannot let go?
Both parts can be true, because they protect different things. One part is exhausted and fantasises about walking out, selling up and moving to the countryside. Another part is terrified of letting people down, losing status or being seen as a man who could not cope. So you keep going, resent it and feel trapped between them.
I do not treat the exhausted part as lazy or the driven part as the enemy. I help you hear what each one is protecting, so your choices about work come from clarity rather than collapse or fear. The aim is not to silence your ambition, but to stop it running your life alone.
Do you keep checking your work phone, afraid of being needed or forgotten?
Many men on leave do, and few admit it. A colleague’s brief reply, a meeting you were not copied into or a project handed to someone else can land as proof that you no longer matter. You check, compare and replay. Underneath sits a fear that your place depends entirely on being useful.
Wanting to matter at work is legitimate, and I will not shame it. I help you calm the alarm that reads every silence as replacement, test your fears against the facts and stay in contact on your own terms. The goal is to rest without feeling erased.
Do you ask for understanding at home and then resent being looked after?
That can happen when you need care and also feel ashamed of needing it. You tell your partner you are wrecked, and when they suggest you rest, you hear that you have failed. A friend offers help and you joke it away. You want to be held and cannot stand being pitied, and you swing back and forth.
I help you slow the cycle down and see the exact moment care starts to feel like humiliation. I respect that reaction, and I will also ask you to take responsibility for how it lands on the people trying to help. Together we find ways to accept support without losing your dignity.
Do you hide in the garage, the gym or your phone when the family needs you?
Many burnt-out men do. After a day of holding it together, one more question at home can feel like an invasion. You go factual, play it down or disappear into a task. The cost is that your partner and children feel shut out, and you lose the very contact that could help you recover.
You need distance right now, and I will not shame you for it. I help you take it openly, with a sentence like ‘I need an hour, then I am here’, rather than vanishing. Space you name is restful. Space you take in silence tends to cost you twice.
Who are you when you are not achieving?
For many men, burnout exposes a question they have avoided for years. Your title, your income and your reputation have done the work of telling you who you are. Take them away, even for a few weeks, and there can be an alarming emptiness.
I help you explore who you are apart from what you produce. Sam Keen’s “Fire in the Belly” describes how a man’s identity gets fused with work, achievement and competition, and how much room opens when he lets feeling, friendship and wonder back in. I will push you, and I will not hand you a ready-made identity.
If this is where you are, book a session to begin, or request a free call first if you are unsure whether you are ready.
You can also send me an email
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What therapy for burnout in men with me will help you do
Understanding why you burnt out matters, but you also need to change how you work, rest and measure your worth.
Working with me will help you understand how you reached this point, see the beliefs and habits that keep driving you and make changes that protect your recovery. Insight without a different way of living is how men burn out a second time.
I take an active part, and I will challenge you when you try to recover as fast as possible, which is the same drive in a new form. I have studied men’s work since 2010, as something that adds to and deepens my training as a psychotherapist. David Deida’s “The Man of Zero” explores a man’s freedom beyond ambition, the strength that appears when he no longer has to prove anything, and I find it a useful lens for men in burnout. These 6 questions describe what we work towards.
How will I help you see what has been driving you so hard?
I help you separate the core of the problem from the noise. The hours, the deadlines and the difficult boss are real, but they are rarely the whole story. Underneath there is usually a belief about what makes a man worth something, an old need to prove yourself to a father or a family, or fear of what you would feel if you stopped.
I give you my honest reading of what to address first, and I question explanations that keep you stuck, such as ‘it was just a bad year’ or ‘I only need a better system’. When you are ready, book a session with me and we will look at it together.
How can you notice the old drive switching on before it runs you?
You can learn to spot it early. The drive has a signature: a buzz of urgency, a tight jaw, a thought like ‘I will just finish this one thing’, the hand reaching for the phone at 11 at night. Once you know the first sign, you have a moment to choose.
I help you trace that sequence and see what triggers it and what it protects you from. We agree on specific responses and you practise them, especially in the weeks when you return to work, which is when the old pattern is strongest.
How can you rest when your body still behaves as if the deadline is tomorrow?
Calming down does not mean forcing yourself to relax, or treating rest as one more target to hit. It means staying present enough to notice what your body is doing and respond rather than push on. Many men only know 2 speeds, full power and collapse, and recovery is largely about learning the ones in between.
I help you notice tension earlier and find ways of slowing down that suit you, which may be walking, physical work or simply sitting still for longer than feels comfortable. This needs daily practice between sessions, not just effort in my room.
How can you set limits at work without feeling you are letting the side down?
It starts with knowing what you can actually carry, which many driven men have never asked themselves. You may say yes before you think, over-explain every no or apologise for needing time. Either way, resentment builds and the overload returns.
I help you find words that are honest, specific and proportionate, for your manager, your team and your family. I will challenge you when you sacrifice yourself to look reliable, and also when you expect others to notice your limits without being told.
Should you go back, change role or leave, and how do you decide?
Clearer decisions come when you separate exhaustion, fear, pride and other people’s expectations from what you actually want. In burnout, men often make one of 2 mistakes: rushing back to prove they are fine, or quitting in a blaze and regretting it. Both are attempts to escape a feeling.
I help you look at what each option would ask of you, now and in 5 years. I will name it when you are avoiding the question, but the decision stays yours. If you have reached the top and still feel empty, my article on being successful but unhappy may speak to you.
What would success look like if it did not cost you your health?
Lasting recovery has to show up in your diary. That may mean different hours, a different role, clearer limits, more time with your children, exercise that is not another competition, or friendships that have nothing to do with work.
Your drive, your standards and your sense of responsibility are not the enemy, and we will not try to remove them. The goal is that they serve a life you actually want, rather than a career that uses you up.
You can also send me an email
What happens when you begin therapy for burnout in men with me
You do not need a diagnosis, a sick note or a clear head. We start with where you are today.
When you begin, I listen, help you name what has happened and give the work a clear direction from the outset. You do not need to explain your whole career or your childhood before we start.
This is a focused form of psychotherapy, structured individual work on your inner life and the way you live. If the burnout has put your relationship under real strain and your partner is willing, couples therapy provides long-term relational development and healing. If you want a steady course of sessions through your recovery, therapy discounts and bundles give you real savings and a plan settled in advance.
What happens in our first session if I am on sick leave?
I ask what happened, how you are sleeping and functioning now, what your work situation is and what you hope will be different. You do not need to give me the whole history before we can do something useful.
By the end, I give you my first understanding and suggest a direction, including the pace I think your recovery needs. You decide whether my way of working suits you. If you prefer to talk first, request a free 30-minute discovery call.
When is individual therapy the right choice for burnout?
Individual therapy is right when the burnout lives mainly in you: in your drive, your beliefs about worth, your history and the way you treat your own limits. Work and family are deeply involved, and we can explore all of it without anyone else attending.
I give you continuity and challenge, which matter a great deal when recovery has its ups and downs. The broader shape of my structured individual work is on Psychotherapy Copenhagen.
When should your partner come with you instead?
Couples therapy fits better when it is the relationship itself that needs sustained attention. If years of overwork have left you living side by side as strangers, if your partner has carried the home alone and is angry about it, or if the same argument returns every week, working on it together will usually help more.
In couples work, I help you both see how each of you keeps the pattern going, take responsibility for your part and find steadier ways of being together. Couples therapy Copenhagen is long-term relational development and healing.
How often should we meet while you recover?
That depends on how depleted you are, what your work situation is and how much continuity the recovery needs. Early on, regular sessions give you an anchor. Later, around a return to work, closer sessions again can protect you from sliding back.
My recommendation is weekly at first. I will tell you when to meet more often and when we can space sessions out. Some men prefer a few sessions back-to-back over several days at the start of their leave.
When does a bundle make sense in burnout?
A bundle makes sense when you know recovery will take several sessions and you want continuity rather than deciding each week. Burnt-out men are good at deciding they are fine too early. A planned course protects the work through the risky stretch when you start to feel better.
The saving is significant, and a structured plan gives your recovery a safe frame. I will help you decide whether one fits. See the options on therapy discounts and bundles.
How will we know when you have recovered?
The work has done its job when you can work without losing yourself, notice your limits before your body enforces them and feel that your worth does not depend on your output. That usually means some months back at work without sliding.
I review progress openly and do not encourage dependency. Sessions can become less frequent, pause or end. If you return later with something new, the earlier work has not failed. Life has simply asked something else of you.
How it works with me
- Begin with a free 30-minute call or book a first session. Let me know briefly whether you are working or on leave, so I can check that this is the right starting point.
- The first session is a 1-hour appointment with 50 minutes of therapy, one to one, at my practice at Møntergade 4 in central Copenhagen or online, in English or Danish. You can book from 08:00 to 21:00 Copenhagen time, any day of the week, subject to availability.
- We usually meet weekly at first, then adjust the pace around your leave and your return to work.
- Every few sessions, we review your energy, sleep and work situation together and decide whether to keep the pace, space out sessions or finish.
- If you expect several sessions, a therapy bundle saves you 10 per cent and gives you a clear plan from the start. You can see the bundles just below.
Save with a prepaid session bundle
How the bundle works
- Current bundle savings are shown on the Pricing page.
- Your bundle is valid for 180 days from the date of purchase.
- The bundle can only be used for the type of session stated on your invoice.
- If you request a refund, sessions already used are recalculated at the standard single-session price.
- The administration fee applied to a bundle refund is shown on the Pricing page.
- VAT follows the type of therapy included in the bundle: VAT-exempt sessions remain VAT exempt, while VAT-liable sessions include applicable VAT.
Compare with nearby options
Not certain where to begin? Here is how this page compares with the options men worn down by work most often consider.
| Option | Choose it when | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Burnout in men (this page) | Work and responsibility have worn you down and you cannot function as before. | Weekly 1-hour sessions at first |
| Depression in men | Flatness, irritability or numbness matter more than exhaustion. | Weekly 1-hour sessions |
| Psychotherapy for men | You want to look at your life as a man broadly. | 1-hour sessions at your pace |
| Back-to-back psychotherapy | You want a focused block of sessions at the start of your leave. | Several sessions over a few days |
Frequently asked questions
What is therapy for burnout in men with you?
It is individual psychotherapy for men who have been worn down by work, ambition or responsibility, and who want to recover and change what led them there. It looks at the exhaustion and at what drove it: the beliefs about worth and manhood that kept you going past your limits. It is available in English or Danish, at Møntergade 4 or online.
I do not issue sick notes or diagnose, so your GP stays your partner for the medical side. This page sits under depression in men, because burnout and low mood in men are often closely linked.
How do I know whether I need help or just a holiday?
If a holiday has not helped, or you were exhausted again within days, take it seriously. The same goes for memory lapses, a body that keeps protesting and loved ones who say you have changed. Your own sense that you cannot go on like this is enough reason to come.
In 22 years of practice, I have learned to ask how long the exhaustion has been building, what you have given up to keep working and how you feel on the rare days you stop. If stopping feels worse than working, the problem is deeper than workload.
Can you help me get back to work?
Yes, if that is what you want, and when you are ready. I cannot promise a date, and I will not push you back early. What I can do is help you understand what broke, rebuild your capacity steadily and prepare for a return that does not repeat the past.
In my clinical experience, the men who stay well after burnout are not the ones who return fastest. They are the ones who return different. I would focus with you on the conversations and limits your return will need.
I am still working. Is it really burnout if I have not collapsed?
It can be. Many men keep going long after burnout has set in, held up by adrenaline and pride.
I would rather see you before the collapse than after it. We look at the signs honestly and decide together what needs to change now. You do not need to be signed off to deserve help.
Why do I either throw myself into work or shut down completely?
Because both are ways of managing pressure. Pushing harder keeps the fear of failure quiet for a while. Shutting down protects you when there is nothing left. Many men swing between them for years, and burnout is often where the swinging ends. None of this is a character flaw.
I help you see which way you move under pressure, what each move is trying to achieve and what it costs you and your family. Then we work on steadier options: pacing, saying no in time and resting before you have to.
My partner pushed me to come. What if I think I am fine?
Then come and find out. In the first session I ask about your work, your sleep, your body and what your partner is seeing that you might not be. I will not take sides, and I will tell you honestly what I notice. By the end, you will have my first understanding and a clear sense of whether more sessions make sense.
You do not need to agree that something is wrong. Book a first session or begin with a free discovery call.
How long does recovery from burnout usually take?
My recommendation is to plan for a course of sessions over several months, weekly at first, rather than a short fix. Recovery takes longer than most men expect, and the period around a return to work needs particular care. If the burnout came on top of years of pressure, it usually takes longer still.
Drawing on 22 years of practice, I suggest a clear first stretch, then an honest review. I will not keep you in therapy longer than it helps.
Should I come in person or online while I am signed off?
In person, if you can manage the journey. A walk or a ride to my practice in central Copenhagen gives your day a structure and gets you out of the flat. Online sessions are just as long and suit you if you are very depleted or have children at home.
Online or in person, it is the same psychotherapy, in English or Danish. If you cannot decide, we can settle it during a free call.
What does therapy for burnout cost with you?
You book individual psychotherapy in 1-hour appointments with 50 minutes of therapy. On my prices page you can see what an appointment with me costs right now. Payment is by invoice and bank transfer.
Because recovery usually takes several sessions, a bundle often makes sense. It saves you 10 per cent and gives you a clear plan. See therapy discounts and bundles. Settle the invoice the same day from a Danish bank account and a further 3 per cent comes off.
How do I book my first session?
Book online at a time that suits you, or request a free 30-minute call if you want to ask something first.
If nothing fits, or you have just been signed off and things feel acute, contact me directly. Because I hold room for acute cases, I can usually offer you a time within days. Take that first step, and we will pace the rest together.
You can also send me an email
My approach and values
My mission
My mission is to help individuals, couples and families rediscover connection, communicate with understanding, and build a stronger, more loving relationship that can thrive through any challenge.
My vision
My vision is to create a world where every person in my therapy room feels supported, connected, and empowered to grow, and to step one step closer to your Self.
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Individual psychotherapy
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