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Written by Dr. Prerna Kohli, PhD · Clinical Psychologist · 30+ years' experience · Last reviewed July 2026 · ~10 min read
Stress & Burnout Counselling in Gurugram — Dr. Prerna Kohli
Stress and burnout counselling helps you understand what is driving the pressure, tension, and overwhelm — and build practical skills to calm your body, set boundaries, and change the patterns that keep you depleted. Dr. Prerna Kohli is a clinical psychologist in Gurugram with 30+ years' experience, working with chronic stress, work burnout, anger, sleep problems, and the effects of trauma, in-clinic and online worldwide. For anxiety, panic, or phobias, see her anxiety counselling hub. Book on +91 98118 62338 (also WhatsApp) or through the website.
Stress is unavoidable — but chronic, unmanaged stress is not, and neither is the burnout that so often grows out of it. When work pressure, family expectations, financial worry, or the sheer weight of always being “on” starts to affect your sleep, your health, your relationships, or simply your ability to enjoy your day, it has stopped being ordinary pressure and become something worth addressing.
Dr. Prerna Kohli has worked with people experiencing chronic stress and burnout for over 30 years at her clinic in Gurugram. Her work is not about telling you to “just relax” — it is about understanding your specific triggers, calming an over-activated nervous system, and changing the thinking and habits that keep you running on empty. Sessions are available in-clinic at DLF Phase 3, Gurugram and online globally. Where worry or fear is the bigger part of the picture, her anxiety counselling work covers anxiety, panic, and phobias in depth.
What stress & burnout counselling helps with
- Chronic stress — the feeling of never being able to switch off
- Work pressure, burnout, and performance stress
- Anger that feels too big, too fast, or hard to control
- Sleep problems driven by a mind that won't wind down
- Caregiver stress and the strain of looking after others
- Life-transition stress — new roles, relocation, major change
- The physical toll of stress on health, energy, and focus
- Trauma and its lasting effects on the nervous system
- NRI stress — managing careers abroad while holding family ties in India
What to expect: how the work is done
Counselling begins with a clear picture of your specific stress landscape — what is setting it off, what is keeping it going, and what personal patterns (perfectionism, difficulty with boundaries, taking on too much) are making it harder to manage. From there the work combines two things: practical skills to settle an over-activated nervous system in the moment, and deeper psychological work on the beliefs and habits underneath. Dr. Kohli does not hand out generic lifestyle advice; change comes through insight and skill-building that fit your actual life, not an idealised version of it. Most people see meaningful improvement within a handful of sessions.
Does it help — and why not to wait
Yes. Chronic stress and burnout are among the most treatable of all mental-health difficulties — and the earlier they're addressed, the easier they are to shift, before exhaustion and overwhelm harden into a way of life. The reason so many people suffer far longer than they need to is not that help doesn't work; it's that stress has been normalised and help delayed.
Sources: World Health Organization — Anxiety disorders fact sheet (2023); India's National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), 2015–16. Figures are general context, not a diagnosis.
Chronic stress is not only a mental burden. It is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, digestive and immune problems, and a significantly raised risk of anxiety and depression — so addressing it psychologically is also an investment in physical health. Where a doctor judges that medication has a role, counselling works alongside it, focused on the patterns underneath.
Stress, overwhelm, or something more? Knowing when to seek help
Everyday pressure and short-lived stress are a normal part of life. What's worth a professional conversation is when the feeling is persistent, out of proportion, or getting in the way — when you're exhausted no matter how much you rest, lying awake, snapping at people you love, or feeling physically unwell with no medical cause. You don't need to be in crisis to benefit. If you ever feel unable to keep yourself safe, treat it as urgent and reach out for immediate help.
Stress & burnout in the Indian context
The pressures here are specific and relentless: fierce academic and career competition, joint-family expectations, the pressure to appear successful, and a culture where stress is often worn as a badge of honour rather than named as a problem. In three decades of practice in Gurugram, Dr. Kohli has found that many high-achieving people only seek help once the body forces the issue — through panic, insomnia, or illness — because slowing down can feel like failure. She has particular experience with professionals whose stress is compounded by an inability to acknowledge their own limits, and with NRI clients managing the pressures of building a life abroad while holding family ties back home.
Dr. Kohli's approach
Dr. Kohli's counselling begins with a thorough understanding of each client's specific stress landscape — what is causing it, what is maintaining it, and what personal factors are making it harder to manage. Treatment combines practical stress-management strategies with psychological work on the underlying patterns — including perfectionism, difficulty with boundaries, excessive responsibility-taking, and the internalised belief that rest is not permitted until everything is done.
Who this is for
Dr. Kohli works with professionals, parents, caregivers, and anyone experiencing chronic stress or burnout that is beginning to affect their physical health, mental wellbeing, relationships, or quality of life. She has particular experience with high-achieving individuals whose stress is compounded by an inability to acknowledge their own limits, and with NRI clients managing the unique pressures of life abroad. Where relationship strain is part of the picture, her marriage counselling work can run alongside; where a low mood has taken hold, see depression counselling; and where worry or fear dominates, see anxiety counselling.
Explore stress & burnout support by topic
Whatever you’re carrying — relentless pressure, a short fuse, sleepless nights, or the weight of the past — the library below is grouped by what you’re facing.
Stress, work & burnout
Chronic pressure at work, at home, and in caregiving.
Anger
Understanding anger — and responding instead of reacting.
Trauma & PTSD
Healing after frightening or overwhelming experiences.
Frequently asked questions
Everyone is stressed — is my stress really bad enough to seek help?
If your stress is affecting your sleep, health, relationships, or ability to function — it is significant enough to deserve attention. The normalisation of stress in urban India means many people suffer far longer than necessary before seeking help. You do not need to be in crisis to benefit from counselling.
What's the difference between stress and anxiety?
Stress is usually a response to a specific external pressure and tends to ease once the pressure lifts; anxiety is more about anticipated threat — worry about what might happen — and can persist even when nothing is obviously wrong. They often feed each other. Dr. Kohli explores this in Worry vs Anxiety, and covers anxiety in depth on the anxiety counselling hub.
What is burnout, and how is it different from ordinary stress?
Ordinary stress usually eases once the pressure passes. Burnout is what happens when stress goes unrelieved for too long — a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion, often with cynicism about work and a sense that nothing you do is enough. It rarely resolves on its own; it needs the pace and the underlying patterns to change. Counselling helps you recover and rebuild in a way that lasts.
Will counselling just tell me to slow down or change my lifestyle?
Dr. Kohli does not give prescriptive lifestyle advice. Her role is to help you understand your own stress patterns and develop solutions that work within your actual life — not an idealised version of it. Change happens through insight and skill-building, not through being told what to do.
Can stress cause physical health problems?
Yes — extensively. Chronic stress is linked to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, digestive disorders, immune suppression, chronic pain, and significantly increased risk of anxiety and depression. Addressing stress psychologically is therefore also an investment in physical health.
Can counselling be done online?
Yes. For most common stress and anxiety concerns, online sessions work well and are available at flexible timings for clients across India and globally, provided the connection is private and stable.
How many sessions will I need?
Most clients see meaningful improvement within 6–8 sessions. Dr. Kohli will outline a realistic plan after your initial consultation based on your specific situation.
Stress is not a badge of honour. You deserve relief.
Book a confidential stress & burnout counselling session with Dr. Prerna Kohli — in-clinic in Gurugram or online globally.
This page is general information, not a substitute for individual professional advice. If you or someone you know may be in immediate danger, please contact your local emergency services.