Getting support
Where to get help for burnout — official services by country
Burnout is common and treatable, and you do not have to wait until it is severe to ask for help. This page lists official, trustworthy places to start: public health services, government health portals and national psychology associations.
If you are in immediate danger or thinking about ending your life, call your local emergency number now (112 across the EU, 999 in the UK and Ireland, 911 in the US and Canada, 000 in Australia) or see the crisis support section below.
The first step: see your GP or doctor
In almost every country, the best first step is your family doctor (GP). Burnout shares symptoms with depression, anxiety, thyroid problems, anaemia and sleep disorders, and a doctor can check for these. A GP can also sign you off work if you need time to recover, and refer you to talking therapy or other support.
It helps to prepare for the appointment:
- Describe what has changed — sleep, energy, concentration, mood, and how long it has been going on.
- Say how it affects your work and life — for example, missing deadlines, dreading Mondays, or having nothing left for family.
- Bring your results — if you have taken this site’s test, your dimension scores can be a useful starting point for the conversation. They are not a diagnosis.
Official resources by country
United Kingdom
- NHS: register with a GP surgery — if you do not have a GP yet. For urgent advice that is not an emergency, call NHS 111.
- NHS Talking Therapies — free NHS therapy for anxiety and depression in England. You can refer yourself without seeing a GP.
- Every Mind Matters — the NHS’s practical self-care guidance for stress, sleep and low mood.
- NHS inform — Scotland’s national health information service.
- British Psychological Society: find a psychologist — for private therapy. Practitioner psychologists must be registered with the HCPC, where you can check anyone’s registration.
Ireland
- HSE: getting help for your mental health — how to access public mental health services, starting with your GP.
- HSE mental health — information on stress, anxiety, sleep and low mood.
- Psychological Society of Ireland: chartered psychologist directory — for private therapy.
United States
- FindTreatment.gov — the federal government’s confidential locator for mental health and substance use treatment.
- American Psychological Association: Psychologist Locator — find a licensed psychologist near you.
Canada
- Government of Canada: mental health support — national and provincial services, including free counselling options.
- Canadian Psychological Association — links to the provincial and territorial associations that run psychologist referral services.
Australia
- Medicare Mental Health — the Australian Government’s free service to help you find the right mental health support.
- healthdirect: mental health helplines — a government-funded list of helplines and when to use each one.
- Australian Psychological Society: find a psychologist — ask your GP about a Mental Health Treatment Plan for Medicare-subsidised sessions.
Portugal
- SNS 24 — the national health service’s contact centre (808 24 24 24) and online services. Your médico de família at your health centre can refer you to psychology services.
- Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses — the professional body that regulates psychologists in Portugal.
Brazil
- Ministério da Saúde: saúde mental — how the public system (SUS) provides mental health care, starting at your local Unidade Básica de Saúde.
- Conselho Federal de Psicologia: Cadastro Nacional — check that a psychologist is registered before you start private therapy.
Spain
- Start with your médico de familia at your local centro de salud, who can refer you to public mental health services.
- Consejo General de la Psicología de España — the national body for psychologists, with links to the regional colleges (colegios).
France
- Ameli: Mon soutien psy — how the national health insurance reimburses sessions with a partner psychologist.
- Mon soutien psy directory — find a partner psychologist near you.
Germany
- 116117: Psychotherapie — the official patient service (phone 116117) helps you get an initial psychotherapy consultation (psychotherapeutische Sprechstunde).
- Bundespsychotherapeutenkammer: information for patients — the federal chamber of psychotherapists explains how to find and access therapy.
Italy
- Start with your medico di base (family doctor), who can refer you to your local public mental health services (Centro di Salute Mentale).
- Ministero della Salute: salute mentale — the Ministry of Health’s mental health information.
- Consiglio Nazionale Ordine Psicologi: Albo Nazionale — search the national register of psychologists by province or language, and check that a psychologist is registered. More at psy.it.
Japan
- こころの耳 (Kokoro no Mimi): consultation — the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s mental health portal for working people, with free phone (0120-565-455), email and social-media consultation. At work, you can also ask to see your company’s occupational physician (sangyōi).
- まもろうよ こころ (Mamorou yo Kokoro) — the Ministry’s list of official phone and social-media consultation services.
Crisis support
If you are having thoughts of suicide or feel unable to keep yourself safe, please reach out now. Find A Helpline lists free, confidential crisis lines by country, including phone, text and chat services. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.
Not sure how serious it is? The assessment gives you a breakdown across five dimensions of burnout to bring to your doctor — free, anonymous, 5 minutes.
Take the free burnout test →About these links
- We only list official public health services, government health portals and national professional bodies. We have no commercial relationship with any of them.
- All links were checked in September 2026. If one no longer works, please let us know via the feedback form.