We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaitlyn Labberton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaitlyn below.

Kaitlyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I had known that I wanted to start my own women’s health physical therapy practice for years, but I was often using the “it’s not the right time” excuse. First my husband and I were planning a wedding, then looking for our first home, then moving and hoping to start a family. The financial and time commitments of each of these life stages were not insignificant, and it certainly did not feel like the right time to start a private practice from the ground up. Add on a worldwide pandemic, and I started to wonder if I would ever actually make the jump with my calculated, risk-averse personality.

As most things in life cannot be fully calculated and planned perfectly, my husband and I encountered a longer-than-anticipated journey to build our family. I found myself in yet another job in which I felt unfulfilled, but yet still told myself to be grateful to have any job at all during COVID-19. I started to realize my career and my journey to motherhood were nothing like I expected or wanted, and remembered a piece of advice from my mother during my first year in the “real world” after graduating college – if you aren’t happy with something, figure out what that is, and make a change. It was time to make a change.

I needed to change my all-consuming focus on becoming a mother back to something else I also loved and valued – my career. I realized there would never be a “right” time, started my research, read countless books, asked colleagues for advice and expertise, and formed my LLC in March 2021. It was terrifying, but also exciting. I couldn’t wait to work with the patient population I loved, schedule longer appointment times to provide the type of care I felt patients deserved, and feel passionate about going to work again. In May 2021, I found out I was pregnant with my son.

This was my turning point and the true risk. It would be so easy to stop here and not move forward. I didn’t have a lease or any real commitments yet. My husband was also making a major career shift in a few months, and stability and predictable income seemed like the wise choice. We needed to save for a baby, not pour savings into starting a business. But I also recognized that if I did not move forward at that moment, I would be committing to years in another unfulfilling job. I spent the next few months setting up my systems, signing a lease, buying equipment, networking, establishing referral sources, and seeing my first patients… only to then go on maternity leave for a couple months! It was wild, it was a risk, but the reward has been unmatched. I love my job, get to raise my son with a flexible schedule, and am living each day fulfilled with my family and career – something I never could have imagined two years ago had I not taken this risk.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Dr. Kaitlyn Labberton, PT, DPT and I own ReclaimHER Physical Therapy. ReclaimHER provides both orthopedic and pelvic floor physical therapy services for women, with a specialty in preconception, prenatal and postpartum care. I help women with physical issues ranging from things like pelvic pain from endometriosis, low back pain during pregnancy, postpartum pelvic floor rehabilitation, urinary leakage with running, or chronic hip pain. I had two main goals when creating ReclaimHER – provide a setting in which women could receive well-rounded, evidence-based care from one clinician (a full-body approach), and provide a healthcare experience in which women felt their concerns were heard and prioritized.

We live in a country and time in which maternal healthcare is not always (unfortunately) prioritized. Personally and professionally, I feel the heavy weight of this often. As a mother, it is too easy to not prioritize yourself – there’s no time, someone else has a greater need, you’re too busy at work to get to that doctor’s appointment, you’re too tired… the list can go on. There is nothing more frustrating than taking off time from work or getting childcare, to show up to an appointment where you feel rushed, the doctor is half out of the exam room asking if you have any questions, and you walk back to your car wondering why you just turned your world upside down to be in and out of the exam room in five minutes flat. I want to create an environment at my practice where women and mothers feel heard, valued, and met where they are. We are consistently working together as a team to make sure their goals are addressed. We figure out how to eliminate barriers to success, and we delve all the questions to get to the root cause of the issue. Sometimes women don’t realize that an old hip injury may be impacting a pelvic floor problem – which is why having time to assess the whole body and obtain a full history is critical.

I started working with this patient population by chance at one of my first jobs, and it has been so rewarding to provide help to these women. There is such a clear need to help this patient group, not enough providers, and quite frankly, so much that can be done to help improve the quality of life of so many people. I’m passionate about helping within my scope of practice, but also being an advocate for women to seek out care from other amazing providers in the community.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I graduated from college as a dance major, and moved to New York City to pursue a career as a professional dancer. Needless to say, navigating the audition scene was intimidating, and navigating the world of part-time jobs between auditions (and without pressing my luck with bosses) was exhausting. I reached a point after two years where the exhaustion and stress was outweighing the love I had for the art form. I re-evaluated how I wanted dance to exist in my life, while also knowing that I wanted this element of human movement to remain in my next career. I applied to physical therapy school, went through my interviews as a “career changer,” and was eager to pursue a career in dance medicine.

I am still grateful for this transition and shifted mindset to pursue dance medicine, even though I have now landed in a different specialty. I do not think I would have been able to pivot to the world of healthcare without looking at it through the lens of dance at the time. After all, dance is what introduced me to PT – as an injured dancer myself and as someone fascinated with human movement. It is still remarkable to remember this pivotal moment in my life, at a time when we crammed four artists into a three bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, to ultimately growing my own private practice today. Interestingly, the lessons of grit and perseverance apply to both worlds!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Since starting ReclaimHER, I have tried to stay true to my brand’s values – and be patient. I have always wanted to honestly and positively build my brand. From a business perspective, this is challenging. It is difficult to start out and not want countless inquiries from prospective patients, a plentiful referral base, and have revenue streaming in right off the bat. From an ethical perspective, I want to honor my clinical ethos. For me, this has meant treating each patient as an individual (not as a “diagnosis” or “number” on my day’s schedule), really listening to the women that come through my door, offering 60-75 minute appointment slots, and finding lasting solutions to their concerns. I also listen to what has NOT worked for them – whether that is another treatment option or other recommendations from previous providers. I find this is a huge turning point for many patients – it builds trust that we care, and we are looking for an actual solution, and we are willing to try something different. I have also taken time to personally connect with other professionals in the community, and learn about how other professionals’ services can help serve the women I see in the clinic.

This strategy may have been a slower initial build for my business, certainly, but one that I feel confident has been honest and genuine. I now have many word-of-mouth referrals from previous patients, many personal referrals from other local professionals, and my business is thriving. I have done what feels right and genuine for me and my brand, though I’m sure some business coaches would have a lot to say about my slower ramp-up process! For me, this approach has built a great reputation of my practice, and one I expect will withstand time and market hurdles.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.reclaimherpt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reclaimherpt/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087242415920

Image Credits
Jen Araya https://jenaraya.com