For Healthcare Providers
Your patients need more than symptom management.
You see them regularly. Professionals who present with migraines that won’t respond to treatment. GI issues with no clear medical cause. Blood pressure creeping up despite medication compliance. Sleep problems that don’t improve with sleep hygiene. Persistent fatigue that rest doesn’t touch.
The labs come back normal. The imaging shows nothing, but you know something is wrong.
Research shows that 60-80% of primary care visits have a stress-related component (Nerurkar et al., 2015). Chronic workplace stress is now recognized as a significant health risk, linked to:
- 40-50% increased risk of coronary heart disease from chronic job strain (Kivimäki et al., 2012)
- Immune suppression through elevated cortisol, reducing resistance to illness (Segerstrom & Miller, 2004)
- Increased risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome from work stress (Nyberg et al., 2014)
- Disrupted sleep architecture independent of sleep duration (Åkerstedt, 2006)
When your patients say they’re “just stressed about work,” they’re often describing a pattern that’s been running for years. Not acute stress that resolves with a vacation. Chronic activation their nervous system can’t reset from.
Treating the physical symptoms without addressing the underlying cause produces temporary relief at best. Your patients need intervention that addresses why their bodies won’t come down from high alert, even when they’re not at work.
What you’re seeing.
Most established professionals aren’t struggling because they lack coping skills or need better time management strategies.
They’re exhausted because they’re working in organizations that require them to be constantly on guard. They monitor themselves relentlessly. They prepare excessively for ordinary interactions. They anticipate criticism before it arrives and rehearse defenses for arguments that may never happen.
This isn’t anxiety in the clinical sense, though it often gets coded that way. It’s hypervigilance developed in response to real workplace conditions. Conditions that question competence unevenly, withhold structural support, and benefit from employees who try to earn respect through overwork.
For women leaders, leaders of color, and others facing structural bias in corporate environments, this pattern is particularly pronounced. The less support their organization provides, the harder they tend to work. And their bodies pay the price.
The physiological toll of sustained hypervigilance:
- Chronic HPA axis activation leading to cortisol dysregulation
- Sympathetic nervous system dominance with impaired parasympathetic recovery
- Elevated inflammatory markers (IL-6, CRP) that persist even during non-work hours
- Disrupted circadian rhythms affecting hormone regulation and cellular repair
- Decreased heart rate variability, a marker of autonomic dysfunction and cardiovascular risk
Your patients aren’t imagining their symptoms. Their bodies are responding rationally to conditions that require constant vigilance.
My approach to work-related stress and burnout.
I’m a licensed therapist specializing in workplace-related stress, burnout, and trauma in corporate professionals. I’ve worked with executives and senior leaders from organizations including Google, Amazon, NBC, Big 4 accounting firms, and Boston Children’s Hospital. These are professionals operating in high-pressure environments where the demands are real and the consequences of missteps are significant.
My work focuses on helping patients understand:
Why their exhaustion persists despite their efforts
I help them understand that the strategies they’ve relied on to protect themselves at work (the over-preparation, the constant self-monitoring, the hypervigilance) carry physiological costs that accumulate over time.
How workplace dynamics create chronic stress
We look at the relationship between their nervous system patterns and the organizational structures that require compensation, anticipation, and constant internal management.
What changes when they stop compensating for organizational dysfunction
Our goal is not to help them do more, it’s to help them build the capacity to recognize when vigilance is genuinely necessary versus when it’s become automatic, and to develop internal authority that doesn’t depend on external validation or reassurance.
I use evidence-based approaches including feminist therapy, nervous system regulation work, trauma-informed treatment, and DBT, combined with practical career assessment when patients are considering whether to leave their current role.
FAQ
What credentials do I have?
- Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- Licensed & Board Certified Therapist
- National Career Development Association Certified Career Service Provider
- Certified Trauma Therapist
- Certified ADHD Career Support Specialist
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Informed Treatment Training
- Heart Math Clinical Certification for Stress, Anxiety, and Self-Regulation
- Certified Accelerated Resolution Therapist
What types of patients benefit most from my work?
Professionals experiencing:
- Chronic stress symptoms that don’t respond to standard interventions
- Burnout that persists despite rest, boundaries, or role changes
- Anxiety specifically tied to work performance or workplace interactions
- Physical symptoms (headaches, GI issues, sleep disruption) that worsen during work periods
- Decision paralysis about whether to stay in their current role or career
- Patterns of overwork and self-sacrifice despite awareness of the toll
- Difficulty “turning off” work stress when they’re home
Particularly effective for:
- Senior leaders and executives in high-pressure corporate roles
- Healthcare professionals experiencing occupational burnout
- Parents trying to balance demanding careers with family responsibilities
- Professionals from marginalized backgrounds navigating bias in corporate environments
- Anyone who has tried traditional stress management approaches without lasting relief
Who my work is not designed for:
If your patient’s trauma, mental health symptoms, or life circumstances are severe enough that they’re struggling to hold down any job consistently, they need stabilization first before this work will be effective.
I work with professionals who are functional but exhausted, not patients who need foundational clinical support to achieve baseline functioning.
How can you refer your patients?
For your patients: You can direct them to schedule a complimentary consultation at https://christine-walker.clientsecure.me/request/service. There’s no referral paperwork needed. They can mention your referral when they fill out the request form.
Response time: I respond to all inquiries within 48 hours.
Am I currently accepting new clients?
Yes, I’m currently accepting new patients. From time to time my schedule fills up and there may be a 1-2 week wait for initial consultations.
For patients who need to be seen urgently, I maintain a cancellation list and often have openings become available within 3-5 business days.
Do I accept insurance?
I’m a private-pay provider, which allows me to offer:
- Flexible scheduling including evenings and weekends
- Longer session times when clinically indicated
- Immediate access without insurance authorization delays
- Treatment approaches tailored to the patient rather than insurance requirements
I provide detailed superbills that patients can submit for out-of-network reimbursement. Many patients receive 50-80% reimbursement depending on their plan.