UK Burnout Hits 19%: Young Workers Worst Affected

Page updated: 14 Aug 2026

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Therapy and clinic practices are being handed a client base that isn't merely curious about burnout, it's actively living it.

Original Research	BACP's yearly temperature check on public attitudes to counselling, this edition flagging a sharp rise in work burnout
Source	https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-us/about-bacp/bacp-public-perceptions-survey/
Overview	A UK-wide survey tracking public attitudes to therapy and mental health, commissioned and published by the professional body for counsellors.
Year	2025
Publisher	Industry body, BACP
Relevance to Wellbeing	Direct, UK-specific evidence from the therapy profession's own body, matched precisely to who is walking through the door in growing numbers.
Our Verdict	Too early to tell a large, current, on-topic survey from the sector's own professional body, hard to find a more relevant source than this.
Our Summary	5,058 UK adults surveyed, which is a proper sample, not a hunch. The rise from 16% to 19% in a year is specific and quotable, not vague wellbeing chat. BACP represents counsellors, so it has an obvious interest in more people wanting counselling. Burnout is self-reported, which means it measures how people feel, not a clinical diagnosis.
Our Geo View	UK-specific. BACP covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; practices elsewhere should check their own national therapy body's figures before quoting this one.

Abstract of wellbeing niches and revenue flow

Recognise how this might impact your practice

Why this might matter to you

Coaching: this matters because a client who is burnt out rather than merely unmotivated needs a different opening conversation, and coaches who spot the difference look sharper for it.
Therapy: this matters because your own professional body is telling you demand is rising and telling you exactly which age group is driving it.
Training: this matters because burnt-out staff are the reason companies suddenly remember they were meaning to book wellbeing training.
Alternative Healing: this matters because burnout clients often arrive at healing practices after therapy waiting lists, not before, so timing your messaging matters.
Clinical: this matters because a rise in stress-related presentations tends to show up in clinical caseloads a few months after it shows up in surveys like this.
Retreat/Centre: this matters because a stat this specific gives a retreat something firmer to sell than "escape the everyday".

Where this came from

BACP's own annual survey on how the British public feels about counselling, this time with a noticeable jump in the burnout figures.

BACP, Public Perceptions Survey, published 2025.

Credibility flags: independently fielded survey, sample of 5,058 UK adults, publisher is the professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists.

How we scored this

A relevance score out of 100, built from three things: how well it fits the six practice types, how recent it is, and how solid the methodology behind it is.

97%

Practice fit, 100How new, 100How solid, 90

Marked up on practice fit and recency, since it's UK therapy data from this year, but held back slightly on how solid the method is because the burnout question relies on self-reporting rather than clinical assessment.

It's worth considering changes to your marketing practices

What this means for your marketing

Put the 19% figure on your website homepage, near wherever you already talk about stress or workload.
Say the words "work burnout" in your next newsletter before a client has to say them to you first.
Brief your booking team to expect more enquiries from people in their late twenties and early thirties, and make sure the intake questions reflect that.
Update your case studies or testimonials to include at least one from someone in the 25 to 34 bracket, if you have one.
Retire any generic "everyone's a bit stressed" language and replace it with something that names burnout specifically.

Who this is most useful for

Practice type	Relevance	Recommended action
Coaching	Medium	Add burnout-specific language to intake forms and marketing.
Therapy	High	Lead with the 19% figure and cite BACP directly, it's your own body's data.
Training	Medium	Pitch workplace burnout sessions to employers using this stat.
Alternative Healing	Low	Use lightly as supporting context, not a headline claim.
Clinical	High	Flag rising presentations linked to work stress in patient materials.
Retreat/Centre	Medium	Position retreats as a response to burnout, not just relaxation.

Best before

Best before: revisit when BACP publishes its next Public Perceptions Survey, expected in a year's time, at bacp.co.uk.

Well. Here We Are At The Bottom.

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Work-related burnout hits 19% of UK adults, worst among 25 to 34 year olds