Health at Every Size® Healthcare Provider Listing
Dr. Lisa Folden
(she/her)
Physical Therapist
Healthy Phit Physical Therapy and Wellness Consultants
Charlotte,
North Carolina,
United States
Contact Me:
Make an Appointment:
Additional information about where I can practice: Physical therapy services are offered virtually and in-person, but only to clients residing in NC or SC. Health coaching services are offered virtually to clients all over the world.
Specialties & Areas of Focus:
- eating disorder recovery
- orthopaedic injuries
- neurological injuries
Modalities & Theoretical Lenses:
- weight-inclusive
- trauma-informed
Age Groups Served:
- Teens (13-18 years old)
- Adults (18 years old and up)
- Older Adults (65+ years old)
- Teens (13-18 years old)
- Adults (18 years old and up)
- Older Adults (65+ years old)
Additional Populations Served & Allied Groups:
- BIPOC
- LGTBQIA+
Languages Services Offered In:
- English
- English
My Philosophy of Care
My practice was created to address clients' total health and wellness. The only of its kind in Charlotte, NC, Healthy Phit offers weight-inclusive physical therapy services to a wide array of clients in varying body types, shapes and sizes needing assistance after injuries and with chronic conditions impacting the bones, muscles and nerves, including those resulting from eating disorders.
My weight-neutral approach ensures that patients are welcomed, made to feel safe and comfortable and never shamed or blamed for their bodies or medical conditions.
In addition to physical therapy, Healthy Phit offers health and body image coaching from an anti-diet perspective, upholding the criteria of Health at Every Size® (HAES®) as established by The Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH). As a result, this practice is fat-friendly, does not encourage diets or restrictive lifestyles and is accepting of all clients, regardless of weight, size, race, age, gender, religious affiliation, sexuality, dis/ability or other variables.
Also, as a certified trauma-informed advocate, I take special care to create an environment that is safe, affirming and that considers the total person. My practice is located in a collective that includes mental health therapy, massage therapy, dietetics and pelvic floor physical therapy, all of which are weight-neutral and anti-diet.
About Me & My Practice
I came to this work by way of personal experiences that caused me to question my former obsession with thinness and weight loss. After "failing" at maintaining weight loss for more than twenty years, I stumbled upon the HAES® philosophy and began educating myself by reading several books (10 and counting).
That knowledge spurred me to begin my intuitive eating certification, my trauma-informed advocate certification and a health-coaching certification via NASM. I am also planning to complete a certification on eating disorders to accompany the many continuing education courses I have taken on the topic.
As a result of my personal experiences as well my professional experiences working with people in thin, midsize, fat and superfat bodies, I decided to cater my services to those on the larger end of the spectrum as well as those in recovery from eating disorders.
I chose this path because people in large bodies deserve the benefit of movement (if that is something they seek) in a safe, judgement-free space working one-on-one with a trained clinician who can modify movements, offer support and assistance and encourage them at every stage of their journeys. Also, people in eating disorder recovery often experience overuse injuries, weakened bones d/t bone density loss and other musculoskeletal injuries that MUST be addressed in a safe, trauma-informed space so as to help them return to safe movement without allowing exercise to become excessive or dangerous again.
Accessibility Considerations
I am proud to say that my space and the colleagues I work with are fat-affirming and welcoming. No one coming into our space will be weighed or shamed for their body size. We work diligently to maintain a workspace free of weight stigma and fat phobia.
Our practice is still new and ever evolving, therefore, we continue to modify equipment to ensure comfort for clients in all body types/sizes. Having said that, my office suite has seating that can accommodate clients who weigh as much as 700 lbs. My treatment tables are limited to ~400 lbs, but I am seeking grant funding to obtain a table that will hold up to 700 lbs as well.
The entire office including main entrances, office door, restrooms, elevators and suite entries are ADA-compliant and accessible to wheelchairs.
The tools used in my practice are adequate for large bodied people, but I am constantly re-evaluating this and purchasing new/updated equipment to ensure my clients' integrity, safety and comfort.