My Year of Mentorship 2026: Building A Practical Pelvic Health Playbook

Overview

Our overarching goal of this program is to translate science and inspire clinicians!

Building confidence in your pelvic health practice can feel overwhelming and daunting.  There is so much pertinent system information (trauma, gastrointestinal, urogenital, pain system hypersensitivity, hormonal) and terminology to learn.  Assessment and treatment occur within a private office setting so getting feedback from other clinicians can be a challenge.  

Contemporary evidence-informed PT care requires a more flexible care approach where clinician confidence that the body is not “broken” or “dysfunctional” is paramount to helping people with persistent pelvic health symptoms.  Lifestyle approaches within a biopsychosocial framework have best-evidence support to provide sustainable changes, yet most physiotherapists are quite uncomfortable in this realm.

This year-long mentorship will break down the complexity of pelvic health into digestible, practical, system-based modules. It will be hands-on, clinical, and very practical!

You will have a partner and a community within which to grow and accelerate your skill building! After the year is finished, you will always have access to this community to ask questions and continue to grow in your knowledge and skills.  This special community will help you grow well beyond this year of mentoring.

The goal is to create solid and actionable skills that are easier to apply in a busy clinical practice.  

Resources that help support your clinical biopsychosocial approach will be available for each module depending on the instructor.  

Feel less overwhelmed, experience less burnout and bring more joy into your practice.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the My Year of Mentoring, clinicians will:

1. Understand that trauma should be considered a universal precaution in pelvic health.
   
   
2. Develop a solid understanding of polyvagal theory and the use of a trauma-informed lens, keeping yourself and your clients emotionally safe
   
   
3. Be able to utilize the brand-new 3PSQ (Persistent Pelvic Pain Questionnaire) as an easier entry point to screening psychosocial distress in every patient
   
   
4. Understand a new framework proven in LBP called the Fit-for-Purpose Model and apply it to pelvic health
   
   
5. Understand how to develop tools that bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and clinical application in a biopsychosocial framework
   
   
6. Understand the theoretical underpinnings of the Fremantle Perineal Awareness Questionnaire and how to integrate sensory-motor dysregulation into clinical practice for persistent pain
   
   
7. Utilize a framework called RAMS (Restore, Activate, Mobilize and Strengthen) to simplify exercise prescription
   
   
8. Understand period pain and endometriosis through a biopsychosocial lens
   
   
9. Understand the management of gut issues through a biopsychosocial rehab lens
   
   
10. Understand the appropriate use of pessaries in clinical practice
    
    
11. Develop skills in using telehealth strategies to broaden your clinical impact
    
    
12. Develop a deep understanding of the current evidence-based knowledge in the assessment and treatment of male post-prostatectomy incontinence
    
    
13. Develop a deep understanding of pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain from a system/lifestyle perspective instead of a biomechanical lens
    
    
14. Integrate pain science education into childbirth preparation for labor and delivery
    
    
15. Develop a deep appreciation for self-care to manage clinician burnout
    
    
16. Continually evolve and appreciate the changing landscape of pelvic health within a Salutogenesis model.  This model asks the question, “what keeps people healthy?” instead of “what makes people sick?”.

Instructors

This international group of clinical and academic leaders in pelvic health has been hand-selected for their excellence in research, teaching, and evidence-informed practice. Every instructor has been steeped within a biopsychosocial model for at least a decade. We are walking the walk!

Instructors include:

• Dr. Sinead Dufour (Canada)
• Dr. Judith Thompson (Australia)
• Shan Morrison (Australia)
• Corina Avni (South Africa, PhD candidate)
• Jilly Bond (Wales, PhD candidate)
• Jill Mueller (Canada)
• Renee Quiring (Canada)
• Ibbie Afolabi (Canada)
• Dr. Malgorzata Prosperpio-Starzec (Poland/Canada)
• Shelly Prosko (Canada)
• Celia Bolton (Australia)
• Dr. Jo Sheedy (Australia)

This group of beautiful and amazing women will be joined by Carolyn Vandyken (Canada) as she leads this Year of Mentorship on one of the best journeys of their careers!

Won’t you join us?  Your patients will thank you!

Here's what a participant of the 2025 program had to say about their experience:
 

I recently completed a full year of advanced mentorship with a team of world-renowned, international physiotherapists, and it has been the most valuable continuing education experience of my career. The program offered an exceptional blend of structured readings, monthly office-hour support, and expert guidance across a wide range of topics, including pelvic health, pain science, and trauma-informed care.

The mentorship provided a depth of learning and professional growth that far exceeded my expectations. Each mentor brought a unique perspective and skill set, creating a rich, supportive environment that challenged my clinical reasoning and elevated my practice. I left the program feeling more confident, grounded, and aligned in the way I support my patients.

I am deeply grateful for this experience and highly recommend it to any clinician looking to expand their knowledge and enhance their therapeutic approach.

Alex Hale, PT
Registered Physiotherapist
Pelvic Health and Paediatric Therapist

Dates

The 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, starting January 8th and finishing December 17th, 2026.  Each session will be 2 hours long.  They will be recorded and available for the remainder of the year on Embodia so that you can watch the sessions again if you want to review the information again, or if you could not make it live to the class.

The program will stop for summer break in July and August.  

The overall time commitment is 5-6 hours per month which includes some self-reflection homework and some partner work.

Registration

The investment for this full year of mentorship is CAD $999 — less than $85 per month for access to world-class instructors, personalized support, partner collaboration, and a professional community that extends beyond the program.

Registration is limited to 50 participants to ensure a high-quality, connected experience. 

Partner Work

If you come to the program with your own partner (a colleague or friend) you will each receive 25% off the course cost. Please email Embodia at support@embodiaapp.com with you and your partners name and email address. You will then receive a unique coupon code to register with a 25% discount.

If you don't have a partner, not to worry! We will assign you a partner in your time zone.  There are some self-reflection homework assignments as well as partner work throughout the year.

Office Hours

There will be monthly Office Hours, a one-hour drop in session with Carolyn Vandyken from 8-9 pm EST to ask questions about material or difficult cases.

Discussion Forum

There will be a forum on Embodia for asking questions throughout the year.  Last year’s participants will also be invited to participate in the forum and will be able to provide perspective and case study answers based on skills they have developed in the program to date.

The vision for this forum is to have a group of strong, likeminded clinicians who are striving to translate the evidence into clinical practice on an ongoing basis. We are looking to develop a tribe of biopsychosocial clinicians with a safe space to encourage and explore.

Here's what a participant of the 2025 program had to say about their experience:
 

I have found this year to be tremendously helpful. As a Mom of 2 with a husband that travels a lot for work, I find continuing education can be challenging to fit in. This format gave me flexibility to attend when I could, or get to it when I could. I also believe the short segments facilitates learning and retention of material in comparison to a weekend course.

You are tremendously supportive. I also found having access to you with office hours great. It gave me an opportunity to reflect on challenging cases. 

Brittany Klingmann, MPT, BSc Kin, CAFCI, CF-L1
Registered Physiotherapist