Meet Kristen Douhan | Doctor of Physical Therapy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristen Douhan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristen, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Risk. What an interesting four letter word. What do I think about risk? I think it is scary. I think it is worth it. I think no reward happens without a little thoughtful risk involved. Risk has played a huge role in in my life and my career and has lead me on my current journey. After I graduated from college with an Exercise Science degree with an emphasis in athletic training, I worked in various different positions and finally settled in a clinical assistant role in a physical therapy clinic as well as working with USA Rugby Men’s National Teams. I evidentially was able to secure a full time job as the Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Colorado Rapids Soccer Team in the MLS. A dream job I would have considered it at the time. However, the combination of these three experiences lead me to learn about holes in my knowledge. I had worked with, and learned from, so many brilliant, talented doctors and physical therapists that it lead me to really want to know more, do more, be more. I decided I needed to go back to school and become a Doctor of Physical Therapy. No easy task. School was very difficult and competitive to get into and I was missing pre-requisites. So, I took a risk. I quit my job in professional sports to take the pre-requisites. Not Physical Therapy school. The courses to apply to school. I took the year to focus on my goal, get the grades needed and go all in. I did get into Physical Therapy school and started my life over in a sense and went back to school full time for 3 years and the rest, as they say, is history. I now own my own physical therapy clinic after yet another risk, which was a great decision and the story is to be continued….

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I don’t think anything worth doing in life is easy and my path has been made easier by love and support, but definitely had it’s challenges. I started off as an athletic trainer and was most inspired by someone who said to me: you will never work in men’s professional sports. That certainly fueled my fire. I not only did it once, I did it twice. Of course, I had to work twice as hard to prove myself and my intelligence and my work ethic, but I did earn the respect of those teams I worked with. It was through that journey that I mentioned previously about working with some incredibly talented individuals and fueled me again to want to learn more and be better at my profession, which is why I made the difficult decision to return to school after a period of time working. It was scary. I did not know if I would make it back into the sports world. Or be any good at physical therapy. At times, imposter syndrome snuck in. I thought I had grit and determination as a gymnast growing up, but I really learned a lot about myself and my capabilities going through these experiences in my career. My story is one of perseverance. Overcoming adversity. Overcoming negative doubters and individuals who try to put barriers in the way. And through all of that, still continuing to climb, learn, grow and be better. The journey is not over yet and there is still so much more learning and growing to do. It never ends, really. Thank goodness.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would pick them up from the airport and take them to Cuba Cuba for dinner. The best Cuban spot in town! Amazing food and mojitos with a cool atmosphere in an old house. We would spent time exploring the great outdoors as well! Red Rocks for sure and hopefully there would be an amazing country concert that week! The next day we could hike the same area and look at the view overlooking the city. Downtown Littleton has a great small town vibe south of the big city and has the best ice cream spot in Inside Scoop. If it is the summer, we will be at Lake Dillon paddle boarding or in the winter, skiing at Keystone. Golfing at Top Golf and Rocky Mountain National Park hiking would be on the list as well!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A lot of credit and recognition goes to my family. My family had unwavering support for me in my journey and I would not be here without my parents, especially. They were my biggest cheerleaders and comforters and also kick in the pants when I needed it. In PT school I had an amazing mentor, Meredith, and my PT school adviser, Shelene, was also incredibly supportive of my goals beyond school. I also worked with amazing people, who made me better at my chosen profession and helped me be a better person: Dr Sam Akhavan and Daliah Hurwitz. We traveled the world together and made many amazing memories and also got through many challenging times together.

Linkedin: Kristen Douhan