The mental health crisis among healthcare professionals is no longer something we can afford to ignore. Physicians, residents, nurses, and PAs continue to navigate staggering emotional demands often without the support they need or the privacy they deserve.

In healthcare, those patterns often get written off as part of the job: long hours, high pressure, no time to process what you’re carrying. But irritability, anger, and emotional withdrawal are some of the most common signs of burnout and stress in men1.

There’s an awful adage that says “doctors make the worst patients.” We sat down with someone who knows whether that’s true—Tamara Haynes, a Licensed Practicing Counselor who regularly provides therapy to healthcare professionals. Here’s what Tamara had to say about working with healthcare professionals as therapy clients.