We were lucky to catch up with Katie Shipley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I’ve always enjoyed my job as a physical therapist. I started with adults and worked my way to pediatrics (which is where I always knew I wanted to be). I landed my dream job at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. It was a wonderful place to work- I loved my co-workers and patients. It was even here that I realized my deepest love as a PT was to work with babies (especially in the NICU). However, the job was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting. After having my first son, I started to realize that I would have to make changes in order to keep showing up as the Mom I wanted to be to him. I started to lower my work hours at this time. Then after I had my second son, I switched working only when they needed me for extra help. This was a scary step, as I was never guaranteed hours. This schedule was working okay for me, but making ends meet was getting more challenging and I wasn’t quite as fulfilled as I had been. Not too long after this, I went through a divorce, that left me even more in a place where I needed to closely monitor my finances and my energy. I took on a few other jobs, and eventually, something deep inside me told me I could open my own practice. This didn’t seem like a wise move for a single mother of two young boys. But that voice inside me told me the risk would be worth it- so I took a big leap of faith and started Nurturing Touch Physical Therapy and Wellness. It turns out that voice was right-it has been a really amazing leap to take. Like anything, it has it’s challenges. But, I thoroughly love getting to treat babies all day, working closely with amazing families, and collaborating with some other wonderful providers for the care of our patients.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Pediatric Physical Therapist, who specializes in treating babies (ages newborn to new walkers). I always knew I wanted to work in pediatrics, but after graduating PT school in 2009, I decided I wanted to start with adults first before going to pediatrics. I worked in several different adult settings and did a specialized residency before switching over to pediatrics at our local children’s hospital. Once in the pediatric setting, I treated in several different settings (outpatient, an amplified pain program, aquatics, NICU (one of my favorite settings), school settings and treating babies in home). In 2020, I started my own practice Nurturing Touch Physical Therapy and Wellness.

Under Nurturing Touch Physical Therapy and Wellness, I treat babies in home or in the clinic for diagnoses such as torticollis/plagiocephaly (babies preferring to look to one direction/babies who have developed a flat spot on their head), developmental delay (babies who are behind with gross motor milestones like rolling/sitting/crawling) and babies with tongue tie (I most often see them before and after a release if they need one). I have been trained in (and love ) Craniosacral Therapy, Myofascial Release and Craniosacral Fascial Therapy and I like to use these modalities as well as others during my sessions.

I take a whole body approach to each of my patients. I don’t look through a lens of their “diagnosis,” rather I look at their whole body and see what is going on. I look at the tension a baby has in their body and how that is impacting their development and interactions with their everyday world. I look at the regulation of their nervous system and how that is playing into what they are seeing me for. I collaborate with other providers they may be seeing to promote the best outcome we can for the baby. This style of care is what I’m passionate about.

One thing I’m proud of of is how I built my business (We didn’t learn how to own a business in PT school, so I was going into this pretty blind). I grew my business almost entirely through networking. The vast majority of my referrals come from providers that I’ve taken the time to meet with, learn about, and collaborate with. Some of these providers are Lactation Consultants, Chiropractors, Pediatricians, Pediatric Dentists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapists and other Pediatric Physical Therapists, It is important to me to get to know other providers and the ways they treat their patients and techniques they use. I also want them to know how I care for my patients. I’ve worked to build trust with these providers, so that we know that when we refer back and forth- our patients are getting really good quality care.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that I needed to treat a patient by their diagnosis. I have always loved for things to be black and white-very straight forward. I would do chart review on a patient, see their diagnosis, and know what my treatment plan would be. While knowing a diagnosis and the pieces that come with it, is very valuable, the piece I was missing was realizing that every person is different- and the way something presents in one person can look very different in another person. The way one diagnosis affects one part of patient, may not affect another the same way. One person may be handling a diagnosis well, while the other is struggling. One parent may feel very empowered in the care for their baby, while another parent may be feeling overwhelmed and anxious. All of these things affect how the patient will do with their therapies, and making sure to consider and address those during therapy can make a huge difference.

I think this is not just a lesson for physical therapy. It’s one I try to keep in mind daily (and I often forget). We are only seeing one piece of the puzzle with the people we encounter each day. It’s hard to not assume or place judgment on them from just these little pieces we see. But, if we can try to consider the whole person, including the pieces we may not know, I think it makes us much more compassion people and better friends, partners, family members, providers.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Networking has been HUGE for me. I’ve done very little other marketing. I reach out to meet providers that my patients or their parents may be seeing. I want to learn more about them and I want them to learn about me and my approach to physical therapy. The relationship I’ve built with these other providers has been paramount. It’s allowed me to have trusted people to refer to when my patient or their parents are in need of a different kind of service. It’s allowed other providers to know they count on me to provide quality care of their patients.    

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nurturingtouchkc.com
• Instagram: @nurturingtouchkc
• Facebook: Nurturing Touch Physical Therapy and Wellness