WCB: Therapy Services for Psychological Injuries
Supporting Your Recovery
A psychological injury happens when work conditions overwhelm your ability to cope over time. This can affect your emotions, body, thoughts, and sense of safety or meaning. It is a response to prolonged stress, trauma exposure, or moral conflict - not a personal weakness. Psychological injuries can look different depending on the workplace and what you've experienced.
If you've experienced a psychological injury at work, whether due to a single incident or ongoing stress, you don't have to navigate recovery alone. When you submit your claim to the Workers Compensation Board (WCB), you will be provided with information on how to proceed with seeking support. Often, a few sessions of therapy are pre-approved so that your injury can be assessed and an initial treatment plan formulated. Our experienced therapists can offer support with or without a formal diagnosis of anxiety, depression, burnout or PTSD and will communicate directly with WCB as required to support your claim. We provide evidence-based treatment tailored to your needs, helping you rebuild a sense of safety, stability, and wellbeing.
Types of Psychological Injuries at Work
Traumatic Stress Injury: This can happen after a single overwhelming event or repeated exposure to distressing situations. Examples might include workplace accidents or threats, witnessing injury, death, or violence (eg: healthcare and emergency service workers), or repeated exposure to trauma stories. In these types of injuries, the nervous system continues to respond as if danger is still present, even after the event is over.
Chronic Stress Injury (Burnout): This can develop gradually when workplace demands stay high for a long time without enough recovery or support. Examples might include excessive workload/constant workload pressure related to unrealistic expectations or prolonged staffing shortages. In these types of injuries, there is a chronic feeling of being unable to catch up regardless of extra effort, and the body and mind move into long-term exhaustion and depletion rather than short-term stress.
Moral Injury: The can occur when something at work conflicts deeply with your values or sense of right and wrong. Examples might include being required/directed by a supervisor to act in ways that feel unethical or harmful, witnessing harm that isn't addressed by leadership, or feeling betrayed, dismissed, or unsupported by the organization. In these types of injuries, the person often experiences excessive guilt, shame, anger, can feel a loss of trust in the organization, and can feel a loss of meaning in their work.
Interpersonal Injury: This can occur when relational strain in the workplace creates ongoing stress; this can be connected to any colleague, supervisor or supervisee. Examples might include bullying, harassment, intimidation, chronic invalidation or disrespect, or a workplace culture that is unpredictable or unsafe. In these types of injuries, the workplace begins to feel emotionally unsafe, even if it is physically safe.
Signs and Symptoms of Psychological Injury
Emotional and Nervous System Changes
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Feeling overwhelmed more easily then before
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Anxiety, dread, or fear connected to work
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Irritability or emotional "numbness"
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Feeling constantly on edge or easily startled
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Emotional exhaustion or shutdown
Thinking and Concentration Changes
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Difficulty focusing or making decisions
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Forgetfulness or mental fog
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Intrusive thoughts or mentally replaying events/instances that happened at work
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Negative thoughts about self or work ( e.g., "I can't do this anymore")
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Loss of confidence in your abilities
Behavioural Changes
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Avoiding work tasks, people, or places
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Increased sick days or difficulty staying at work
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Withdrawing socially at work or at home
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Using more coping strategies just to get through the day (e.g., alcohol/cannabis, zoning out, overworking, dissociation)
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Feeling like you are "just surviving" the workday
Physical and Recovery Changes
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Sleep problems (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or unrestful sleep)
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Chronic fatigue that doesn't improve with rest
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Headaches, muscle tension, or stomach issues
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No longer feeling like yourself after work even with time off
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Reduced ability to "reset" between shifts or weekends
Know When It's More Than Stress
Work Stress tends to improve with rest, support, or time away. Psychological injury is more likely when:
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Rest does not fully restore you
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Symptoms are spreading into life outside of work
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Work starts to feel emotionally unsafe or intolerable
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Your body or mind feels like it stays in "survival mode"
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You feel like you are not returning to your baseline anymore
How Therapy Can Help
Psychological injuries are treatable. Recovery is often gradual and involves both stabilization (reducing strain) and rebuilding safety and capacity over time.
Recovery is not usually a single breakthrough-it is often a process of:
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Feeling safer in your body again
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Reducing overwhelm and reactivity
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Restoring energy and sleep
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Rebuilding trust in yourself and others
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Reconnecting with meaning, values, and identity
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Feeling more able to choose how you respond rather than just reacting to stress
Therapy provides a structured space to support recovery in several ways:
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Helping you understand what you're experiencing without judgement
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Support nervous system regulation and coping strategies
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Working through trauma-related or stress-related symptoms at a tolerable pace
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Processing workplace experiences that feel overwhelming or stuck
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Addressing guilt, shame, anger, or moral distress
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Supporting decisions about boundaries, leave, or workplace changes
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Rebuilding a sense of stability, identity, and direction
Therapy does not require you to "push through" symptoms. It is often most effective when it helps you slow things down enough that your system can recover safely.