Burned Out in a Healing Profession? South Asian Therapy in NYC for Healthcare Workers Who Need Support Too

If you’re a South Asian healthcare worker in New York—doctor, nurse, APP, therapist, med student, pharmacist, tech—you probably know how to hold other people together while quietly falling apart yourself.

You clock out, but your brain is still rounding on patients. You replay the near-miss, the bad outcome, the angry family. You’re carrying charts, metrics, and RVUs on one shoulder and family expectations, visas, finances, and “log kya kahenge” on the other.

And somewhere in the middle of all that, you’re supposed to be well. Let's talk about South Asian therapy for healthcare workers in NYC and how it can help.

Burnout in healthcare isn’t “just part of the job”

Let’s name it plainly: burnout in healthcare is not a personal failure; it’s a systems outcome.

The World Health Organization defines burnout as a workplace syndrome marked by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy. It’s specifically tied to chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been managed.

Large-scale research on physicians and nurses consistently shows high rates of burnout—often 40–60% in U.S. samples—with strong links to depression, suicidality, substance use, and intentions to leave medicine. During and after COVID, studies of residents and frontline workers reported alarming levels of anxiety, PTSD symptoms, and moral injury (the distress that comes from being unable to provide the care you know people deserve).

You’re not dramatic. The conditions you’re working in are.

When you’re South Asian and a healthcare worker

Now add the South Asian layer on top of all that.

Research on South Asian immigrants and second-generation adults shows high rates of psychological distress alongside strong cultural pressures to be high-achieving, self-sacrificing, and “resilient.” Mental health stigma, fear of professional repercussions, and family narratives about “strength” can make it even harder to ask for help.

Common themes I hear from South Asian healthcare workers:

• “My parents sacrificed everything, I can’t complain about being tired.”

• “Everyone at home introduces me as the doctor; I don’t know who I am outside of that.”

• “If I slow down, I’m letting the team down.”

• “Therapy feels selfish when my patients are literally dying.”

Studies on minority clinicians describe “minority tax” and “cultural taxation” – the extra emotional labor of being the go-to person for every South Asian, Muslim, brown, or immigrant patient in the building, plus being asked to educate colleagues, translate, and sit on every DEI committee. That’s invisible labor that rarely shows up in your job description, but absolutely shows up in your nervous system.

So you’re holding your patients, your colleagues, your family’s hopes, and your own identity in a system that is literally burning its workforce out. No wonder your body is hitting the brakes with insomnia, migraines, IBS, panic, or numbness.

What can therapy offer when you’re used to being the helper?

If you’re a clinician yourself, you’ve probably thought: “I already know the psych terms; what is a therapist going to say that I haven’t already thought of?” Or worse, “What if they judge how I’m coping?”

Evidence says otherwise.

Meta-analyses show that psychotherapy is effective for reducing depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms across diverse groups, including healthcare workers. Interventions such as CBT, ACT, and mindfulness-based approaches have been adapted specifically for physicians and nurses, leading to reductions in burnout and emotional exhaustion.

But beyond techniques, there’s something uniquely powerful about having one room where you are not the provider:

• You get to feel anger and grief without editing it for professionalism.

• You can say the quiet part out loud: envy, regret about your specialty, fantasies of quitting.

• You can explore how colonialism, caste, religion, gender, and migration shaped the part of you that decided you had to be the “healer” in the first place.

At Boundless, therapy isn’t about convincing you to “stay positive” in a broken system. It’s about helping you listen to the parts of you that are waving the red flag and figure out what sustainable, ethical, and honest looks like for you.

Why South Asian therapy for healthcare workers in NYC matters here

For South Asian healthcare workers, seeing a South Asian therapist—or a therapist deeply familiar with South Asian, Muslim, or diasporic realities—can change the work.

You don’t have to spend half the session explaining:

• Why you feel guilty taking a leave when your parents are still bragging about you being a doctor.

• How caste, colorism, or gender expectations operate in your family.

• The pressure of visa timelines, remittances, or being the “anchor” relative in the U.S.

• Why it’s complicated to say no to elders, mentors, or attendings who are also part of your community.

Research on culturally responsive care shows better engagement, satisfaction, and outcomes when therapists share or deeply understand clients’ cultural backgrounds and stressors. When you’re already exhausted, not having to translate every cultural nuance is a gift.

What we might work on together in South Asian therapy

In South Asian therapy for healthcare workers in NYC, we might:

• Map out your burnout honestly: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, moral injury, perfectionism. No sugar-coating.

• Explore the origin story: When did you learn you had to be the helper? What did medicine represent in your family—safety, status, escape, redemption?

• Separate your values from inherited expectations: What you actually want vs. what your parents, mentors, or program directors needed from you.

• Build a nervous system plan, not just a productivity plan: boundaries, rest that actually restores, somatic tools for coming down from call or crisis.

• Talk through options: staying and shifting roles, reducing hours, changing specialties, taking a break, or leaving entirely—without shame.

You’re allowed to be both a committed clinician and a human being with limits.

You’re allowed to be the one who gets care, too

If you’re a South Asian healthcare worker in NYC, burned out, numb, or quietly falling apart between shifts, you’re not broken—you’re responding to chronic stress in a system that has normalized self-erasure as professionalism.

South Asian therapy for healthcare workers won’t magically fix hospital staffing or residency culture. But it can give you a place to stop performing, tell the truth, and figure out what healing looks like when you’re tired of being the strong one.

You spend your days advocating for everyone else’s health. You’re allowed to advocate for your own.

Struggling with burnout? South Asian therapy for healthcare workers in NYC can help

Caring for others day after day can take a profound toll, especially for South Asian healthcare professionals in NYC who carry not only the intensity of their work, but also cultural expectations, family pressures, and the belief that they must “push through” no matter what. Many South Asian physicians, nurses, therapists, and frontline workers find themselves emotionally drained, disconnected, or questioning their sense of purpose.

At Boundless, we understand the unique intersection of cultural identity, professional demands, and the unspoken pressure to be the strong one. Our therapists offer a culturally attuned, affirming space where South Asian healthcare workers can slow down, acknowledge their own pain, and begin healing from burnout and compassion fatigue. You deserve support, too. Your well-being matters.

Here’s how to begin South Asian therapy for healthcare workers in NYC:

1. Schedule a free 25-minute consultation to talk about what you’ve been carrying. Whether it’s burnout, cultural expectations, family responsibilities, or the emotional weight of working in a healing profession.

2. Book your first South Asian therapy session to start untangling chronic stress, perfectionism, identity pressures, and the exhaustion that can come from always being in a caretaking role.

3. Begin your healing process with culturally responsive support that honors your experiences as a South Asian healthcare worker in NYC and helps you rebuild clarity, rest, and a more sustainable way of caring for yourself and others.

Comprehensive therapy services at Boundless in NYC

At Boundless, we understand that healing looks different for everyone. That’s why we provide an array of therapeutic options for individuals, couples, and families seeking support. Our clinicians offer culturally attuned care for South Asian partners, LGBTQ+ clients, and anyone facing trauma, anxiety, depression, or other emotional challenges.

Our therapists draw from a variety of evidence-based modalities, including EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention (EXRP), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Somatic Experiencing combined with mindfulness practices. We also provide group therapy, clinical supervision, and professional training, along with accessible online therapy options. This ensures your care is flexible, personalized, and aligned with your needs.

Meet the South Asian therapist supporting your healing journey

Prerna Menon, LCSW and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, provides compassionate, trauma-focused support to clients working through childhood sexual trauma, incest, addiction, identity confusion, and complicated family dynamics. She also supports individuals experiencing race-based stress, exploring gender or sexual identity, and navigating the challenges of cross-cultural belonging.

References from a South Asian therapist for healthcare workers

• Dyrbye, L. N., West, C. P., Sinsky, C. A., Goeders, L. E., Satele, D. V., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2020). Physicians’ experiences with burnout, well-being, and professional fulfillment. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 95(9), 1681–1694.

• Kakani, P., Sorensen, C., Rao, S. R., & Blease, C. (2020). South Asian physicians’ experience of burnout and distress. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 22(5), 1013–1022.

• Kroenke, K., & Magill, M. (2023). Psychotherapy for physicians and other health professionals: A review. Current Psychiatry Reports, 25(4), 123–134.

• Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111.

• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Taking action against clinician burnout: A systems approach to professional well-being. National Academies Press.

• Palmer, V. J., Garvey, G., & Inder, K. J. (2022). Culturally responsive mental health care for racial and ethnic minority groups: A systematic review. The Lancet Psychiatry, 9(7), 566–580.

• Sharma, R., & Yip, C. (2021). Mental health of South Asian immigrants: A review of challenges and intervention needs. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(8), 1074–1084.

• West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., Erwin, P. J., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2016). Interventions to prevent and reduce physician burnout: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 388(10057), 2272–2281.