I’m a therapist in Silicon Valley. My high-achieving clients refuse to do the one thing that will help them most. [Video]

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nicholas Sanchez, a 36-year-old therapist from the Bay Area. It’s been edited for length and clarity.

Being a therapist in Silicon Valley is full of dichotomies.

My clients want work-life balance but refuse to work less. They want to climb the corporate ladder but the rat race has them burnt out. They have everything, but it’s not enough.

My job is to help them step outside the Silicon Valley bubble and explore their purpose beyond work.

I work with high-achieving professionals in Silicon Valley

I’m the founder and CEO of Silicon Valley Therapies. For the past decade, I’ve seen 25 clients a week. Most of my clients have been high-achieving tech, law, or entrepreneurship professionals.

Unlike a more general pool of clients, whose typical concerns center on family or personal matters, my Silicon Valley clientele largely come to me with work concerns.

Many of my clients are caught up in the corporate rat race…