Anna Katharina Schaffner
Anna Katharina Schaffner, Ph.D., is a professional burnout and executive coach and a writer.
Anna Katharina Schaffner, Ph.D., is a professional burnout and executive coach and a writer. Anna used to be a professor of Cultural History at the University of Kent.
Dr. Shaffner specialises in helping people overcome burnout and overwhelm and rediscover their passion and purpose. Her unique blend of expertise as both a writer and a coach reflects a lifelong dedication to the art of self-improvement.
Her writing has appeared in the Times Literary Supplement, the Guardian, Psychology Today, AEON and PSYCHE. Her research has been discussed in national and international media, including BBC Radio 4 and WBUR, as well as in Vogue, the Atlantic, National Geographic, Philosophie Magazine, the TLS, de Volkskrant and New Republic.
Education, Titles, and Degrees
- 2019: mBIT Coach, Canterbury
- 2012-2013: Foundation Course in Psychoanalysis, Institute of Psychoanalysis, London
- 2001-2006: Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, University of Edinburgh
- 2000-2001: MSc in Comparative Literature, University of Edinburgh
- 1997-2000: Intermediate Exam in English and American Studies, Humboldt Universitaet, Berlin
First- and Second-Author Publications
Dr. Anna is the author of two internationally acclaimed books:
- The Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths (Yale University Press, 2021) (link)
- Exhaustion: A History (Columbia University Press, 2016) (link)
Her latest book is Exhausted: An A-Z for the Weary (Profile, 2024). (link)
A Personal Message From Anna
In addition to being a writer and a researcher with a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, I am also a qualified coach. All my life, I have been torn between a love of literature and writing and psychology. I have now found a way to bring these interests together.
I have written academic and journalistic texts for two decades and published a novel and a range of non-fiction books. I review for the TLS, and, in addition to writing for PositivePsychology.com, I also write a regular blog for PsychologyToday.
– Dr. Anna Schaffner
You can visit her website here.
