When High Performance Comes at a Cost: Minerva’s Work with Leaders, Executives, and High-Visibility Professionals

Success is often admired from the outside. Titles are earned, responsibilities expand, and visibility increases. Yet for many high-performing professionals—executives, founders, physicians, lawyers, and public-facing leaders—achievement comes with private costs that are rarely spoken about.

At Co & Associates, Minerva works with individuals and couples who function exceptionally well in the world, yet feel the quiet strain of sustained responsibility, emotional containment, and relational pressure. Her work is designed for those who are not in crisis, but who sense that something important is being carried alone.

The Emotional Weight of Leadership

High performance often requires decisiveness, composure, and the ability to manage complexity under pressure. Over time, this can lead to emotional suppression rather than emotional leadership—where feelings are managed away instead of understood.

Many of the clients Minerva supports describe experiences such as:

• Burnout that doesn’t resolve with time off

• Difficulty being emotionally present in intimate relationships

• A sense of disconnection from personal values

• Feeling responsible for others while having little space to process their own inner world

• Relationship strain shaped by power, stress, or uneven emotional labour

These challenges are not signs of weakness. They are common outcomes of high responsibility carried without sufficient relational or emotional support.

Why Minerva’s Approach Is Different

Minerva brings a rare combination of clinical expertise and lived experience to her work. Before entering psychotherapy, she spent years in senior corporate roles, giving her a firsthand understanding of leadership culture, performance expectations, and the unspoken rules that often govern high‑visibility positions.

This background allows her to meet clients without judgment or oversimplification. In the therapy room, clients do not need to justify their ambition, explain organizational dynamics, or downplay the pressure they face. The work is grounded, nuanced, and respectful of complexity.

Minerva draws on evidence‑based approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness‑informed practices. Sessions focus on clarity, emotional awareness, and values‑aligned action—supporting clients in making choices that reduce unnecessary psychological strain while preserving what matters most to them.

Supporting Sustainable High Performance

A central focus of Minerva’s work is helping clients move away from survival‑based functioning and toward sustainable performance. This includes:

• Understanding how stress and emotional suppression impact the nervous system

• Identifying patterns that contribute to burnout or relational disconnection

• Developing emotional regulation without emotional detachment

• Re‑establishing alignment between values, work, and relationships

Rather than asking clients to perform less, the work supports them in performing differently—with greater self‑awareness, flexibility, and internal coherence.

Working with High‑Performing Couples

Success and responsibility do not stay contained within the workplace. For many couples, leadership roles, long hours, and chronic stress shape how partners relate to one another.

Minerva is especially passionate about working with couples where ambition, power, or external pressure have complicated emotional connection. In this work, partners are supported in:

• Understanding their relational dynamics and stress responses

• Clarifying commitment and shared intentions

• Addressing patterns of distance, resentment, or misattunement

• Building connection that can hold the life they are creating together

This is not about assigning blame or teaching surface‑level communication strategies. It is about fostering mutual understanding, respect, and relational integrity.

A Space Without Performance

One of the most meaningful aspects of Minerva’s work is the therapeutic environment she creates. Her practice is calm, discerning, and non‑judgmental—a space where clients are not expected to perform, lead, or contain for others.

For individuals and couples who are accustomed to being relied upon, therapy becomes a place to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what truly matters.

At Co & Associates, we believe that emotional and relational well‑being should not be the cost of success. Minerva’s work reflects this belief, offering sophisticated, values‑driven support for those navigating complex lives with care and intention.

If you are a high‑performing professional or couple seeking thoughtful, discreet support, Minerva welcomes you to learn more about her approach.