About Your Therapist
Dr. Lauren H. Collins PT, DPT,WCS, CLT
Dr. Lauren H. Collins, PT, DPT is a healer whose work is rooted in deep clinical expertise, cultural reverence, and an unwavering commitment to the restoration of Black bodies and lives.
With nearly three decades of practice as a physical therapist and more than 20 years dedicated to women’s health, Dr. Collins brings both mastery and tenderness to her care. She is a Board-Certified Specialist in Women’s Health Physical Therapy, a certified lymphedema therapist, and a trauma-informed practitioner whose work centers survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence. For the past 17 years, her clinical focus has included pelvic floor dysfunction, chronic pain, and the complex ways trauma lives in the body.
A proud Howard University alumna, Dr. Collins earned her Master’s in Physical Therapy in 1998 and returned to complete her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2020 — a full-circle commitment to excellence, legacy, and service. She is currently a professor in Howard University’s Physical Therapy program and serves on faculty with the American Physical Therapy Association’s Academy of Pelvic Health, where she has also been a teaching assistant for over a decade. Her academic contributions extend nationally, including adjunct faculty roles at Alabama State University and guest lectures at the University of California, San Francisco.
In 2022, Dr. Collins founded Lauren H. Collins Wellness, a nonprofit created to provide pro-bono, survivor-centered healing services for Black survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. This work reflects her belief that healing must be accessible by design — not by exception — and that culturally responsive care is essential, not optional.
Her therapeutic approach is grounded in multilayer, whole-self healing. Dr. Collins integrates advanced manual therapy techniques such as Craniosacral Therapy, Visceral Manipulation, Myofascial Release, and 5NP Auricular Acupuncture, alongside her training as a sexual assault survivor first responder. She understands that the body remembers — and that healing requires safety, trust, and respect for each person’s lived experience.
Beyond the treatment room, Dr. Collins facilitates workshops and trainings for survivors and for the organizations that support them, focusing on trauma-informed care, pelvic health, and the intersection of chronic pain and trauma. Through her educational platform Pelvic Love on YouTube, she offers free, affirming pelvic health education to expand access and normalize conversations long silenced in our communities.
When you meet Dr. Lauren Collins, her presence is unmistakable. She is a clinician, educator, and advocate — but first and foremost, she is a healer who meets people exactly where they are, honoring their bodies, their stories, and their right to heal fully.
Please see the link at the bottom of the Home page for links to the YouTube videos about pelvic health.
Therapies and Fees
Craniosacral Therapy
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Visceral Manipulation
"CST is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of a physiological body system called the craniosacral system - comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.
Using a soft touch generally no greater than 5 grams, or about the weight of a nickel, practiti
"CST is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of a physiological body system called the craniosacral system - comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.
Using a soft touch generally no greater than 5 grams, or about the weight of a nickel, practitioners release restrictions in the craniosacral system to improve the functioning of the central nervous system." -upledger .com
Please follow the link for further information on Craniosacral Therapy
Visceral Manipulation
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Visceral Manipulation
" Visceral Manipulation is based on the specific placement of soft manual forces to encourage the normal mobility, tone and motion of the viscera and their connective tissues. These gentle manipulations can potentially improve the functioning of individual organs, the systems the organs function within, and the structural integrity of the
" Visceral Manipulation is based on the specific placement of soft manual forces to encourage the normal mobility, tone and motion of the viscera and their connective tissues. These gentle manipulations can potentially improve the functioning of individual organs, the systems the organs function within, and the structural integrity of the entire body." -Barral Institute
Please follow the link for further information on Visceral Manipulation
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Pelvic floor physical therapy involves treatment of the muscles, connective tissues, joints, nerves and organs of the lesser pelvis. Diagnoses of pelvic floor dysfunction include; pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, urinary or fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, hip, low back and lower abdominal pain. Treatment is done via educat
Pelvic floor physical therapy involves treatment of the muscles, connective tissues, joints, nerves and organs of the lesser pelvis. Diagnoses of pelvic floor dysfunction include; pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, urinary or fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, hip, low back and lower abdominal pain. Treatment is done via education, various manual therapies performed externally and, if tolerated, internally vaginally or rectally, exercise, posture and alignment corrections, and other types of treatment techniques, Internal treatments are only performed with the consent of the patient. Therapy can still be performed without having to do internal work, although, with many pelvic floor issues, internal assessment and treatment of the pelvic floor muscles is the most direct way to affect change to the muscles and tissues.