ABOUT DR. PAIGE · CREDENTIALS & TRAINING
The Training Behind Your Care
Credentials matter. What matters even more is how that training shapes the care you receive.
Dr. Thea Paige, PT, DPT, CMTPT, PCES combines doctoral-level physical therapy education with advanced training in dry needling, orthopedic care, pelvic health, and pregnancy and postpartum rehabilitation. More than a decade of clinical practice brings what coursework alone cannot: the clinical judgment to know what matters, what can wait, and how to build an effective plan.
THE RECORD
What Training Stands Behind Divine Physical Therapy?
Dr. Paige earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from The George Washington University in 2015, after completing a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry at the University of North Texas. Since then, she has pursued advanced education across the areas that now shape care at Divine Physical Therapy.
Her clinical experience spans outpatient orthopedics, pelvic health, acute hospital care, inpatient rehabilitation, neurological rehabilitation, post-surgical recovery, and return to activity — together supporting the whole-person clinical reasoning behind The Divine Restore & Reset Movement Method™.
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist (CMTPT)
Advanced pelvic rehabilitation coursework, Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute
Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist (PCES)
Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) Level 1
Y Balance Test certification
EACH CREDENTIAL, EXPLAINED
What Each Credential Required And Why It Matters
Reviewed by Dr. Thea Paige, PT, DPT, CMTPT, PCES — about Dr. Paige.
PCES — 2025 · Return to Activity
Bridging Rehabilitation And Return To Activity
Dr. Paige completed the Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist (PCES) certification through Core Exercise Solutions in August 2025. The training focuses on exercise programming for pregnancy and postpartum recovery — core and pelvic floor coordination, diastasis recti, breathing and pressure management, strength development, and progression toward higher-level activities.
For someone whose goal is to return to lifting, running, exercise, recreational sports, or simply carrying a growing child comfortably, rehabilitation should ultimately prepare the body for the demands of real life.
Herman & Wallace — 2015–2020 · Pelvic Health
Advanced Pelvic Health Training
Pelvic health physical therapy requires specialized post-graduate education beyond the entry-level physical therapy degree. Dr. Paige has completed advanced coursework through the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute, including Pelvic Floor Level 1 (2015), Level 2A (2016), Mobilization of Visceral Fascia: The Urinary System (2018), and Pregnancy Rehabilitation (2020).
She also served as a teaching assistant for Herman & Wallace's Pelvic Floor Level 1 course in 2016, 2017, and 2018, assisting licensed clinicians during the laboratory portion. Today, that training allows pelvic health to be considered alongside the rest of the body, rather than treated as an isolated system.
Explore pelvic health & postpartum care
SFMA & Y Balance — 2018 & 2019 · movement assessment
Looking Beyond Where It Hurts
Dr. Paige completed Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) Level 1 training through Functional Movement Systems in 2018, Y Balance Test certification in 2019, and 16 hours of functional-strength training through Great Lakes Seminars in 2019. Together, these tools support a more complete look at how different regions of the body work together—and how to build strength around what the assessment finds.
A knee complaint may warrant assessment of the hip, ankle, foot, or trunk. A shoulder complaint may require looking at the neck, rib cage, or upper back. This whole-body thinking is incorporated into the Assess phase of the Divine Restore & Reset Movement Method™.
Functional Strength: An Updated Approach to Exercising Our Patients
Great Lakes Seminars
Dr. Paige also completed sixteen hours of continuing education in functional strength training and exercise programming for physical therapy patients.
CMTPT — 2017 · Dry Needling
Advanced Dry Needling Training
Dr. Paige earned the Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist (CMTPT) credential through Myopain Seminars in 2017, after completing Dry Needling Foundations I, II, and III — hands-on laboratory instruction and written and practical examinations covering anatomy, safety, contraindications, and clinical reasoning.
She has incorporated dry needling into clinical practice since 2016. At Divine Physical Therapy, it is never a stand-alone solution — when clinically appropriate, it is one component of a broader treatment strategy addressing pain, mobility, muscle performance, and movement.
Learn more about dry needling
DPT — 2015 · The Foundation
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Dr. Paige earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from The George Washington University in 2015. Doctoral physical therapy education includes extensive study of anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, movement science, examination, differential diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and supervised clinical practice.
That training goes beyond identifying a painful muscle or joint. Physical therapists are trained to evaluate movement and function while also recognizing signs and symptoms that may indicate a condition requiring medical evaluation outside the physical therapy scope — a distinction especially important in a direct-access practice, where clients may seek physical therapy without first seeing another provider.
EXPERIENCE BEYOND THE TREATMENT ROOM
I continued training after earning my doctorate because many of the people I wanted to help did not fit neatly into one specialty. The athlete may also have pelvic floor symptoms. The postpartum mother may be trying to return to heavy lifting. My training gives me more tools. My job is to determine which ones actually belong in your care.
— Dr. Thea Paige, PT, DPT, CMTPT, PCES
Since earning her doctorate in 2015, her clinical work has included outpatient orthopedic rehabilitation, pelvic health, post-surgical rehabilitation, acute hospital care, neurological conditions, vestibular care, oncology, intensive care, and inpatient rehabilitation — while building Divine Physical Therapy alongside it, from 2016 onward.
RECOGNITION & CLINICAL EDUCATION
Where Did Her Path To Physical Therapy Begin?
Dr. Paige received The George Washington University's Excellence in Clinical Leadership Award in 2015 for outstanding performance in clinical practice.
She has also provided clinical education to healthcare colleagues on topics including shoulder stabilization taping, return-to-sport testing, dry needling, and soft tissue treatment techniques. Continuing education remains part of the practice because physical therapy continues to evolve — and clinical decisions should evolve with it.
ASKING BETTER QUESTIONS
How Should You Evaluate A Physical Therapist's Credentials?
Credentials should help you ask better questions, not simply give you more letters to read. When considering a physical therapist, ask:
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Are they licensed where I will receive care?
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What additional training supports the specific treatment they are recommending?
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How much experience do they have applying that training to people with needs similar to mine?
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Can they explain why a particular treatment is appropriate for me?
A good clinical relationship should make those questions easy to ask. Dr. Paige is a licensed physical therapist in the Commonwealth of Virginia; her Virginia license information is listed in this website’s footer. See Our Approach to learn how her training translates into your care.
THE RECORD, IN ONE PLACE
Credentials At A Glance
2025
PCES — Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist
Core Exercise Solutions
Advanced exercise programming for pregnancy, postpartum recovery, core and pelvic floor coordination, diastasis recti, strength, and return to higher-level activity.
2019
Y Balance Test
Functional Movement Systems — measurable return-to-activity testing
Movement testing used to assess balance, motor control, and movement symmetry.
2018
SFMA Level 1
Selective Functional Movement Assessment, Functional Movement Systems
Systematic whole-body movement assessment for individuals experiencing pain.
2016 - 18
Herman & Wallace — Pelvic Floor Levels 1 & 2A
Visceral fascia, pregnancy rehabilitation; teaching assistant
Pelvic Floor Level 1 (2015), Level 2A (2016), Visceral Fascia: Urinary System (2018), Pregnancy Rehabilitation (2020).
Teaching assistant, Pelvic Floor Level 1 — 2016, 2017, 2018.
2017
CMTPT — Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist
Myopain Seminars
Dry Needling Foundations I, II and III with hands-on laboratory training and written and practical examinations.
2015
DPT — Doctor of Physical Therapy
The George Washington University
Clinical doctorate in physical therapy. B.S. Biology, minor in Chemistry — University of North Texas.
“This is a selected list of Dr. Paige’s formal credentials and advanced training. She also completes ongoing online continuing education across a range of medical topics, conditions, and evidence-informed treatment approaches.”
KEEP READING
Where To Go Next
MEET DR. PAIGE
About Dr. Paige
Meet the physical therapist behind Divine Physical Therapy and why she built a different model of care.
CARE
Pelvic Health & Postpartum
Private, individualized pelvic health and postpartum physical therapy.
TREATMENT
Dry Needling
How dry needling fits into care, when it may be appropriate, and what to expect.
THE METHOD
Our Approach
Assessment, hands-on care, movement, education and independence, through the Method.
YOUR QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Frequently Asked
BEGIN WITH A DISCOVERY CALL
Credentials Tell You How I Trained. Your Care Is About You.
Start with a complimentary 15-minute Discovery Consultation with Dr. Paige to discuss your concerns, review relevant background information, and determine whether Divine Physical Therapy is the appropriate next step.