The Unhappy Professional
Therapy for Entrepreneurs
You built something. Now something's off.
I work with entrepreneurs at every stage. Some run businesses out of their house. Some own Main Street shops with employees and payroll. Some are scaling companies with investors and boards. Some have already exited for seven or eight figures and found out that the money didn't fix what they thought it would.
Different businesses. Different stakes.
But underneath, the patterns are remarkably similar.
Most entrepreneurs are those who learned early on that they had to figure it out on their own, that no one was there to help, and that survival meant staying busy, staying ahead, and staying in motion.
That works - until it doesn’t.
What Brings People Here
Most people reach out because something in their life has gotten loud enough that they can't keep working around it.
A marriage that has grown distant, an affair, or a partner who is done waiting
Work struggles with finances, employees, partners or simply burnout
Kids pulling away or a family interaction that landed harder than expected
Health signals: tightness in the chest, chronic exhaustion, panic, a racing heart at 3am
Or a feeling that something is off, a quiet sense of dread on a Sunday night, a nagging sense that despite doing everything right you’re still not okay.
A lot of people can’t name exactly what’s wrong. They just know something's off.
That's enough to start.
Entrepreneurs are very good at staying busy, which is also a good way to hide feelings.
Staying busy looks good on the outside: it’s productive, it’s legitimate, it’s praised, and it can hide what’s underneath for a long time before anyone notices what’s going on, including you.
But you can't outrun your own mind forever.
Whatever’s being pushed down will always find a way to get louder. This includes painful things such as loss, childhood trauma, small stresses piling up. On the surface, this can look like neverending anxiety, surprising anger issues, drinking more than normal, risky decisions, or a heaviness that never lifts.
Sometimes it's more subtle: not a crisis, but you’re not enjoying as much as you normally do. You're always climbing, never resting. You can't relax because when you do, the unease creeps in.
Living this way is exhausting. And it catches up with everyone eventually.
The Entrepreneur Pattern
The "Stay Positive" Trap
Some people are convinced that if they stay positive, think good thoughts, and keep moving forward, they will eventually be fine.
I get the appeal. But when positivity is your only strategy, it's usually loud and chaotic inside. What you push away will come back louder and stronger. Your body will find a way to get your attention.
The cost is that you’re always managing, and never get to relax into who you are as you are always keeping something at bay. You might look calm on the outside, but inside is constant tension.
That's no way to live. And it doesn't have to be that way.
When Relationships Bring You In
Some of the most meaningful work I do is with people who come in because of marriage problems, distance, or an affair.
Not because it’s easy, but because when something that personal is on the line, people stay engaged. They show up. They do the work. And that's when change happens.
Often, what looks like a relationship problem is two people who've been avoiding their own stuff, and now it's surfacing at once. The rupture isn’t the whole story, it's what finally cracked things open.
When people start being honest, not from tips or tricks but from truth, that's when the love comes back. Admitting things that you might not normally do is where healing starts.
And sometimes, through that honesty, someone realizes they’re not in the right relationship for them. Therapy helps them see clearly and build the strength to stand on their own. That’s also healing.
About half the entrepreneurs I talk to are skittish in the beginning.
They show up, but there's a guardedness. They want to know if I can help, but they're not quite ready to let me in. That makes sense. If you've spent years figuring things out on your own, trusting someone with the stuff you've been carrying doesn't come easy.
The other half are ready. Something has cracked open, whether it's a relationship, a health scare, a failure, or just years of pressure finally catching up. They're done running from it. They want to do the work.
Both types can do well here. But I'm honest with people from the start: this isn't the kind of therapy where you pop in when things get bad and disappear when they settle down. That doesn't work. Not for my practice, and honestly, not for you either.
We meet weekly or biweekly. Occasionally life gets in the way and we skip a week. But if someone's looking for a therapist they can check in with every six weeks, I'm not the right fit. And I'd rather us both know that upfront.
What I've Noticed
Going Back
I tell people in the first conversation: if you want real results, we're going to have to look at some earlier stuff.
Not because I want to dig through your childhood for fun. But because the patterns running your life now usually started a long time ago. The voice in your head that says you're not good enough. The feeling that you have to earn everything. The difficulty relaxing, trusting, asking for help. That stuff didn't come from nowhere.
Some people hear that and they're ready. Others hear it and a part of them says, no way. I'm not going near that. And that's fine. It just means we're not the right fit, at least not right now.
The ones who are ready, we go at their pace. I'm not here to push anyone into something their system can't handle. Your body will guide us. If we touch something heavy and you can't sleep for three days, that's information. We slow down. We honor whatever part of you got activated. We don't force it.
I use this metaphor a lot: if a kid tugs on your sleeve while you're on the phone, and you ignore them, they're going to keep tugging. But if you look at them and say, I see you, I'm on a call, I'll be with you in a minute, they settle. They've been acknowledged.
That's what we're doing with the parts of you that have been ignored for years. We're not drowning them. We're waving to them. Saying, I see you. That alone starts to change things.
What Therapy Changes
When this work lands, I see it in people's faces.
There's a softness that shows up. A youthfulness. Something loosens. It's subtle, but it changes everything.
I've seen entrepreneurs stop white-knuckling through life. They find out they can be stressed and still relaxed. That they can face hard things without falling apart. That they don't have to spend all their energy on containment.
I've seen entrepreneurs reconnect with their employees in a completely different way. Not just managing, but actually seeing people.
I've seen marriages that were on life support become something deeper and more honest than they'd ever been.
I've seen people let go of shame they'd been dragging around for decades. And once it's gone, their ideas get clearer. Their confidence isn't brittle anymore. They stop proving and start building.
I've seen someone take a weekend away from their family without guilt for the first time in years. And they come back lit up because they remembered some part of themselves they'd forgotten.
I've seen people visit their parents and feel compassion instead of anger.
I've seen people get excited about something new, not because they have to prove they're worthy, but because they finally trust that they have something to give.
You can't put a price on peace of mind. But if you do the work, it shows up in everything. Your health. Your relationships. Your business. The return is real.
I'm a therapist, but I'm also a business owner. I built this practice from scratch. I know what it's like to have the always-on button stuck, constant financial pressure, and to be either struggling or succeeding but worried about what could go wrong.
Before this, I spent a decade as a nurse in emergency rooms, psych units, and home health. I've worked inside systems that grind people down and I've sat with people who built systems of their own and got worn down anyway.
I understand what you're carrying. And I'm not going to waste your time with therapy that sounds nice but doesn't go anywhere.
What I Bring To This
How It Works
First we talk for 30 minutes, free, no obligation. You tell me what's going on. I tell you how I'd approach it. You get a sense of whether I'm someone you could work with.
If we move forward, sessions are 55 minutes. We meet weekly or biweekly.
I don't do the thing where you answer a hundred intake questions. We just talk. I'm listening for themes, patterns, belief systems. I'll ask you for three goals, and we'll work toward those. Over time, all the pieces show up. They always do.
What I use:
EMDR therapy to process memories and experiences that are still running your nervous system
Psychodynamic therapy to understand why you do what you do
Parts work when there's internal conflict that needs attention
Details
Private pay only. No insurance.
$250 per 55 minute session
30-minute consultation at no cost.
Virtual sessions in CO, DC, NC, NY, TX, VA, and WA.
Self-Scheduling for Day and Evening Hours
What you do is hard. There's a lot of weight on your shoulders. You may have been taught that you have to carry it all yourself.
You don't.
Your ability to work hard, to push through, to figure things out. If you bring that same energy here, you'll get what you're looking for.
A Final Word
What clients say:
“Zack was a patient and caring guide through a difficult time.
He provided a therapeutic relationship that offered a balance of support and challenge, helping me build a stronger foundation from which to live my life.
Through EMDR I was also able to travel to the root of many beliefs that were stifling my growth — making core changes to how I see myself and my world — opening up more love in all directions.
I’m grateful.”
-AB