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Faith M Stokes, PT, DPT, PRPC, WCS, OCS, FAAOMPT

@thephfellow

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Not your typical PT.
Physical therapy × mental health × lifestyle medicine × trauma-informed care.
Let’s figure this out together.

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by @thephfellow

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10 months ago

Accepted for APTA CSM 2027!!!

Grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with a strong group of clinicians on a topic that continues to shape how I practice.

This work focuses on how sleep, stress, physical activity, nutrition patterns, and substance use influence outcomes we see every day in the clinic. These factors are often present but not consistently integrated into decision making around loading, pacing, prognosis, and patient education.

Our goal is to present a practical and efficient way to incorporate lifestyle factors into routine care without expanding scope or adding unnecessary complexity.

I am thankful to be part of this group and looking forward to sharing what we have been working on!
#APTA
#PhysicalTherapy
#LifestyleMedicine
#ClinicalPractice
#PTCommunity by @thephfellow

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4 months ago

Trauma-informed care isn’t a technique. It’s a way of understanding the people in front of us.

Thankful for the opportunity to present on this topic this week. If you missed the live webinar, the full recording is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1epDRWHAFTs

I hope you find it helpful.
#TraumaInformedCare #PhysicalTherapy #PainScience #Neuroplasticity #Rehabilitation by @thephfellow

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3 months ago

If you’ve had a TBI and struggle with digestive symptoms, don’t assume they’re unrelated.

Sleep, stress regulation, autonomic function, physical activity, and the microbiome can all be affected after brain injury, and each of those factors can influence digestive health.

This is also a reminder that screening for TBI and treating TBI are not the same thing.

@braintreatmentcenter_nova does an incredible job raising awareness and providing treatment for TBI, and I was honored to contribute to their latest article on supporting gut health after brain injury:

Link: https://www.braintreatmentcenterashburn.com/post/gut-punch-supporting-gut-health-after-tbi

Sometimes supporting the gut means supporting the brain, too.

The best care looks at the whole person. Brain injuries don’t occur in isolation, and neither do their symptoms.
#TBI #BrainInjury #GutHealth #GutBrainAxis #Concussion by @thephfellow

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13 hours ago

One of the things I appreciate most as a provider is when someone tells me an intervention isn’t helping.

We often assume that if something works in session, it should work the same way at home. But context matters.
Doing an intervention independently is a different experience than doing it with the support, guidance, and co-regulation of a provider. Sometimes a tool that felt helpful in session feels overwhelming, activating, or simply ineffective when used alone.

That doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

It doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

And it doesn’t mean the intervention itself is bad.

It means we have more information.

Feedback helps us adjust. We can change the type of intervention, the intensity, the duration, the timing, or find a completely different strategy that is a better fit.

The goal isn’t to force yourself to use a tool that isn’t working. The goal is to find tools that genuinely support you.

If breathwork has ever felt activating or uncomfortable, I’ve linked a carousel below that explains why that can happen and offers some alternatives to consider.

Link to full post with resources: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dalo8hoGhrs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&mdxt=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&srtk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
#TraumaInformedCare
#NervousSystemRegulation
#PatientEducation
#HealthcareProvider
#Breathwork by @thephfellow

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3 days ago

One of the biggest barriers to healthy habits is believing they only count when they’re done perfectly.

We miss a workout and decide the week is ruined.

We can’t cook the healthy meal, so we order whatever is easiest.

We don’t have time for a vacation, so we convince ourselves rest will have to wait.

It’s an easy trap to fall into because the ideal solution is usually obvious.

What’s harder is finding the version that fits the life we’re actually living.

The people who sustain habits long-term aren’t necessarily the most disciplined. They’re often the most adaptable.

They find another way when the original plan isn’t available.

A shorter walk. A modified workout. A quick phone call instead of dinner with a friend. Ten minutes of recovery instead of an entire day off.

Flexibility doesn’t lower the importance of the need.

It changes how we respond when circumstances change.
Sometimes the healthiest question isn’t:
“What’s the best option?”
It’s:
“What’s the next available option?”
#SelfCareSkills #LifestyleMedicine #BehaviorChange #HealthyHabits #SustainableHealth by @thephfellow

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4 days ago

We spend a lot of time in healthcare talking about what people should do.

Sleep more. Exercise more. Eat more vegetables. Manage stress.

Most people already know those things.

What I find is that many people aren’t struggling because they don’t care about their health.

They’re struggling because nobody ever taught them how to care for themselves.

That’s not the same thing.

Many of us learned how to work hard. How to push through. How to take care of everyone else.

But caring for ourselves with the same consistency, compassion, and attention is a skill. And like any skill, it can be learned.

That’s one reason self-care belongs in Lifestyle Medicine.
Not because it’s soft. Not because it’s optional.
Because it’s often the foundation that allows healthy habits to become sustainable.

When patients sit across from me, I don’t assume they’re lazy or unmotivated.

Most are trying incredibly hard.

Sometimes the next step isn’t finding more willpower.
Sometimes it’s looking in the mirror and asking:
“What does the person in front of me need right now?”
Then responding to that person with the same care we’d offer someone we love.

That’s not lowering the bar.

That’s how we create the conditions for growth.

That’s how we bring the best version of ourselves forward.
#LifestyleMedicine #SelfCareSkills #HealthBehaviorChange #SustainableHealth #WellBeing by @thephfellow

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5 days ago

One thing I’ve noticed in myself and my patients is that we often assume whatever is getting the most attention must be the thing that’s most important.

Sometimes that’s true.

Sometimes it’s just the thing that’s loudest.

The urgent task. The deadline. The crisis. The squeaky wheel.

Balance requires enough self-awareness to ask whether the distribution of our time, energy, and attention still reflects what matters to us.

That’s not a question with a permanent answer.

A healthy system is constantly changing.

A new parent may need balance that looks very different from someone caring for aging parents. A difficult month at work may require different priorities than a week on vacation. What’s sustainable in one season may not be sustainable in the next.

The goal isn’t to create equal slices.

The goal is to stay curious enough to notice when something important has been missing from the conversation.

Sometimes the thing that’s neglected isn’t another obligation.

Sometimes it’s the thing that helps us recover from all the others.
#BalanceInHealthcare
#LifestyleMedicine
#SelfCareSkills
#SustainableHealth
#HealthBehaviorChange by @thephfellow

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6 days ago

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6 days ago

We spend a lot of time talking about blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, exercise, and weight when it comes to heart health.

And we should.

But we often overlook the role of psychosocial factors.
In the INTERHEART Study, researchers found that psychosocial factors such as chronic stress, depression, major life events, and a perceived lack of control were associated with heart attack risk. The population attributable risk for psychosocial factors was 32.5%, compared with 17.9% for hypertension, 9.9% for diabetes, and 20.1% for abdominal obesity.

This doesn’t mean blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity don’t matter. It means our mental and social well-being matter more than many of us realize.

Resilience isn’t about “thinking positive.” It’s about developing the skills, habits, relationships, and supports that help us navigate stress before it becomes chronic wear and tear on the body.

We can’t control every stressor life gives us.

But we can build the resources that help us respond to them.

Resilience is heart health.
#HeartHealth #Resilience #MentalHealthMatters #StressManagement #PreventiveHealth by @thephfellow

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7 days ago

We spend a lot of time listening to the voices that tell us what we should have done differently, where we fell short, or how we need to improve.

But awareness isn’t about criticism.

It’s about curiosity.

Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” try asking, “What do I need?”

Is your body asking for nourishment?
Water?
Rest?
Movement?
Quiet?
Connection?

Research suggests that becoming more aware of our internal physical and emotional experiences may support emotional well-being. Sometimes awareness isn’t just the first step toward self-care. It can be a meaningful practice on its own.

So today, don’t worry about fixing everything.

Just listen.

Notice what your body is asking for.

We’ll build the rest together.
#SelfCare #LifestyleMedicine #MentalWellbeing #HealthEducation #Wellbeing by @thephfellow

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10 days ago

I’ve spent a lot of time studying health, behavior change, and wellness. What’s surprised me is that many people aren’t struggling because they don’t care about themselves. They’re struggling because nobody ever taught them how.

We learn math. We learn history. We learn how to care for others.

Very few of us are taught how to recognize our own needs before we’re overwhelmed.

That’s one reason I wanted to create this series.

Over the next several weeks, we’ll explore six pillars of self-care together. Not as another list of things you “should” be doing, but as skills that can be learned and practiced.

I find the first pillar particularly interesting because awareness may have value all by itself.

The research on interoception and emotional regulation suggests that becoming more aware of our internal experiences can support well-being. In other words, awareness isn’t only useful because it helps us decide what to do next. Paying attention may be beneficial in its own right.

That’s encouraging because it means you don’t have to solve everything today.

You don’t need the perfect plan.
You don’t need to fix every problem.

Sometimes a good place to start is simply noticing what’s already there.

As for the other five pillars... we’ll learn those together. I’m still learning too.
#SelfCare #LifestyleMedicine #MentalWellbeing #HealthEducation #PersonalGrowth by @thephfellow

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11 days ago