Burnout and overfunctioning
When you are always the reliable one, rest can feel unfamiliar or even unsafe. Therapy can help you notice what keeps you overextended and build a more sustainable rhythm.
Online therapy across California
For Black women seeking a therapist in California.
You may be the person who holds everything together, even when the weight is quietly catching up with you. Therapy can be a place to put down what you have been carrying and come back to your own needs, values and voice.
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A space that understands the context
You deserve care that does not ask you to leave parts of yourself at the door.
Being capable has likely helped you get through a great deal. It may also mean that people assume you are fine, even when you are exhausted, anxious or unsure how much longer you can keep moving at the same pace. When achievement, family expectations, work demands and identity all meet in one place, it can be hard to hear your own needs clearly.
At Tafiyya Counseling, therapy is a space where you do not have to overexplain your experience or turn it into a lesson for someone else. We can make room for the full picture: the parts of your life that are going well, the parts that feel heavy, and the patterns you are ready to understand differently.
That context matters. You may be navigating assumptions about strength, expectations to care for others, pressure to excel or the fatigue of being the only person in the room who has to explain why something landed differently. Therapy will not erase those realities, but it can help you make sense of their impact and decide how you want to respond.
What we can work through
Support for the pressure beneath the surface.
Anxiety and perfectionism
You can be accomplished and still feel driven by fear, self-doubt or the sense that you are never doing enough. We can make room for self-trust alongside ambition.
Boundaries and relationships
Clear limits can bring up guilt, conflict or old fears about disappointing others. Together, we can explore ways to be caring and direct without abandoning yourself.
Life and identity transitions
A change in work, partnership, family or sense of self can leave you questioning what comes next. Therapy offers a steady place to reflect and choose your next steps with care.
How therapy can feel
Warm, direct and grounded in your real life.
There is no performance required here. You can arrive with a clear goal, a tangle of feelings or simply the sense that something needs to change. We will begin with what is true now and move at a pace that honors your capacity.
Shalonda Ibrahim-Abubakar, LCSW, brings a trauma-informed, strengths-based approach that integrates insight-oriented, cognitive, relational, mindfulness and somatic practices. The work is collaborative: we pay attention to what is happening beneath the stress, then make room for choices that feel more aligned with the life you want.
We can be practical without rushing past what matters. Some sessions may help you prepare for a difficult conversation, notice the thoughts that keep you in overdrive or create a boundary that you can actually maintain. Other sessions may make room for grief, anger, uncertainty or the relief of no longer having to carry a story alone. Both kinds of work can be meaningful.
That can mean learning to pause before you say yes, understanding why rest brings guilt, grieving a version of yourself that was built around survival, or making decisions that are less about proving yourself and more about protecting your peace.
A simple place to start
Begin with a conversation, not a commitment.
- 01
Book a free consultation
Choose a time that feels manageable. The 15-minute call is a chance to connect and ask questions.
- 02
Talk through what is present
You can share what feels urgent, draining, confusing or difficult to name. There is no need to have it all figured out.
- 03
Decide on your next step
If it feels like the right fit, we can schedule your first session. If not, you will still leave with more clarity.
You do not need to earn support
Making room for yourself can be a real act of care.
Many high-achieving women are used to waiting until a problem becomes urgent before asking for help. You may tell yourself to push through a little longer, solve it on your own or wait until you can explain exactly why you are struggling. But support does not need to be earned by reaching a breaking point.
Therapy can be useful when you are functioning on the outside and tired on the inside. It can be a place to notice the quiet signs that something needs attention: a short temper, a sense of dread before work, a relationship that feels harder to navigate, a body that never quite relaxes, or a life that looks full but does not feel like yours.
You are allowed to want more than getting through the week. You are allowed to take your needs seriously before they become impossible to ignore. A first conversation is simply a chance to see whether this kind of support feels useful for where you are now.
Frequently asked questions
Clear answers before you reach out.
Do you offer online therapy throughout California?
Yes. Tafiyya Counseling provides secure online therapy for California residents, so you can meet from a private place that works for your life and schedule.
What concerns can we explore in therapy?
Many clients come in feeling worn down by burnout, anxiety, perfectionism, difficult relationship patterns, life transitions or the pressure to keep showing up for everyone else. You do not need to have a perfect label for what is hard before we begin.
What does therapy cost?
Individual sessions are $190 for 50 minutes. Tafiyya Counseling is a private-pay practice, and superbills are available for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
How do I know whether Tafiyya is the right fit?
A free 15-minute consultation gives you space to share what is bringing you in, ask practical questions and decide whether the approach feels right. There is no pressure to make a decision on the call.
A focused 15-minute consultation
You do not have to hold it all alone.
A free, focused conversation can help you decide whether this is the support you have been looking for.