Why Therapy Is Becoming a Power Tool for Business Owners
Once, therapy for business owners would have been a punchline. Now it’s becoming part of the job description.
Not in a big showy way. It’s not shouted about on stage at startup events. You won’t see it listed under “skills” on a LinkedIn profile. But it’s there. Quietly. Regularly. Sitting in the calendar between “finance review” and “client pitch” is now “therapy session”. And more business owners are discovering it’s the most useful meeting of the week.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise. A 2023 survey by Mental Health UK showed that over 80% of small business owners reported symptoms of poor mental health—stress, anxiety, burnout, you name it. Many cited isolation, financial pressure and decision fatigue as top causes. There’s also the unrelenting pressure to look like you’ve got everything under control, even when you haven’t slept properly in a month.
So what’s changing? Simply put, we’re getting better at admitting that business isn’t just about spreadsheets and strategies. It’s about people. And those people need to be in decent shape to make good decisions, manage teams and grow companies.
Therapy Helps You Manage the Unspoken Load
One of the biggest myths in entrepreneurship is that mental strength means doing everything alone. In reality, being your own boss often means you’re your own HR department, therapist, and crisis response team. And no, talking to your dog while pacing around the kitchen doesn’t count.
Therapy offers something rare in business life: a neutral space. A place where you don’t need to perform, impress or fix things immediately. A good therapist will ask questions no one else does. Why do you feel the need to respond to every email within ten minutes? Why does one bit of criticism derail your day? Why do you feel guilty if you're not busy?
These questions are not indulgent. They’re practical. Because if your reactions are costing you sleep, clarity, or your temper, they are costing your business too.
Entrepreneurship Is a Magnet for Perfectionists and Control Freaks
Let’s call this out. Many business owners are not stressed by their work—they’re stressed by the way they relate to it. The belief that everything must be done perfectly. That asking for help is weakness. That the business cannot survive without their input on every single thing.
Therapy can help unpack those assumptions and offer alternatives. That doesn’t mean you become soft or start lighting candles in the boardroom. It means you learn to delegate without spiralling, to receive feedback without flinching, and to stop tying your entire sense of worth to quarterly results.
In short, it helps you be less reactive and more effective.
Therapy Isn’t Just About Emotions. It’s About Strategy
A growing number of therapists work with entrepreneurs specifically on the mental load of running a business. That includes making tough decisions, managing difficult people, setting boundaries, and dealing with the imposter syndrome that tends to sneak in every time you achieve something significant.
Therapists aren’t business advisors—but they’re often better at spotting behavioural blind spots. If you’re sabotaging opportunities, neglecting your own wellbeing or stuck in a loop of overwork, they’ll help you see it. They’ll also help you stop it.
Some business owners report that therapy sessions are where their most important insights come from. Not because the therapist gave them the answer, but because they finally made space to think about the right questions.
What It Looks Like in Practice
Let’s be specific. Therapy doesn’t need to be endless, and it doesn’t need to dig into your childhood unless you want it to. A typical engagement for a business owner might be 6 to 12 sessions, either weekly or fortnightly, with a focus on stress management, resilience and leadership style.
Sessions might explore:
Why you avoid certain conversations
How to stay calm during financial uncertainty
How to separate your identity from your role
What boundaries you need between work and life
How to respond better to setbacks
It’s not about becoming a new person. It’s about becoming a better version of the one who already built something out of nothing.
Therapy Can Be Practical, Flexible and Private
Many therapists now offer online sessions. You can speak to someone on your lunch break, from your office or from the car (as long as it’s parked). If time is tight, some offer 30-minute check-ins rather than full-hour sessions. And if you want to keep it entirely off-grid, there are therapists who specialise in working with high-profile clients discreetly.
Finding someone is easier than ever. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) both have directories where you can filter by location, specialism and availability. Platforms like My Online Therapy, BetterSpace, and Self Space offer business-focused options with no faff.
Some health insurers also now include therapy in business or executive plans, and a few local authorities offer subsidised mental health support for self-employed workers.
Strong Businesses Are Run by Strong Minds
Here’s the shift. Entrepreneurs are no longer seeing therapy as a sign that something’s gone wrong. They’re seeing it as part of their toolkit—alongside mentors, marketing plans and financial forecasting.
They want to lead better. Think clearer. Sleep more. Snap less. Make decisions based on data, not stress. And stay sane while scaling.
If that means speaking to a professional once a week to make sense of the chaos—why wouldn’t you?
