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June DeStefano Tait, PT, DPT is the owner of SPTA since its opening in 1994. Graduating with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Lowell, Lowell, MA, she has been practicing physical therapy since 1986. June received a Doctorate in physical therapy from Utica University, Utica, NY. She has also received a certificate diploma in Integrative Manual Therapy from the Connecticut School of IMT which is affiliated with Westbrook College of Arizona. June specializes in manual therapy techniques for musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. She received her certification in mat Pilates from the Kane School of Pilates based in New York, NY and has extensive training in mat and reformer Pilates with the APPI Institute. June has developed and taught Modified Pilates for Core Strengthening classes for many years. Strengthen your core and change your life! June is certified in extracorporeal shockwave therapy and is a member of the International Society for Medical Shockwave Treatment. She is the team leader for shockwave therapy with radial pulse wave (RPW) at SPTA. June is certified in Dry Needling techniques, KinesioTaping techniques as well as in Power Plate acceleration training. She is constantly furthering her education to learn new skills and techniques as she loves physical therapy and SPTA. June enjoys being active and being outdoors. She is a yoga and Pilates enthusiast! June also enjoys playing pickleball with her husband! She and her husband love to travel, especially to visit their adult children! |
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Melissa Auger, PTA is a graduate of Ohlone College, Fremont CA. She has been practicing physical therapy since 2015. Melissa also has a BS in Business from University of Oregon. She moved to Maine from California in 2019. Melissa treats both orthopedic and pelvic floor dysfunctions including bladder, bowel, and pelvic pain issues. Outside of work, Melissa spends time with her husband, two kids, and dog. She enjoys fitness, reading, and wine. |
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Brenda Belanger, PTA is a graduate of Newbury College, Brookline MA. She has been practicing as a physical therapy assistant since 1988. Brenda is on the Facial Pain Treatment Team and has over 30 years’ experience in the treatment of TMJ and cervical dysfunction. She has a strong background in orthopedic and sports physical therapy. Brenda has training in manual therapy for the treatment of musculoskeletal dysfunction. She is certified in KinesioTaping. Brenda is also trained and certified in Power Plate acceleration training. When not in the clinic, Brenda enjoys spending time with her family and friends. |
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Kate Brewer, PT, DPT is a graduate of the University of New England. Kate has been practicing PT since 2014 and is experienced in treating a multitude of different diagnoses. Her passion lies in outpatient orthopedics but has enjoyed working with patients with acute needs in a hospital-based setting. Kate enjoys designing treatment plans to specifically match each patient’s needs to provide the best care, meet goals, and improve overall quality of life. Most importantly, she studies how each patient moves and works with the patient to improve quality of movement to maximize rehab potential and lower risk of re-injury. In her ‘down time’, you can find her chasing after her twin boys, playing with her yellow lab, riding her Peloton, watching the Bruins and Patriots, paddle boarding, and enjoying life alongside her husband, Eric. |
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Sarah Elia, MPT received her Masters Degree from American International College in Springfield, MA and has over 20 years of experience in outpatient physical therapy with a passion for treating a wide range of pelvic floor dysfunctions. She is widely recognized by the southern Maine medical community as being cutting edge and patient focused. She has extensive training and experience with orthopedic conditions, pelvic pain, bowel & bladder incontinence, and sexual dysfunction for both women and men. In the clinic, Sarah uses various methods of treatment to help alleviate pain and increase functional mobility. She has completed gold standard coursework from Herman and Wallace Institute including The Pelvic Floor Series, Fascial Based treatment for Pelvic Dysfunction, Pudendal Neuralgia and Treatment, Bowel Pathology/Function, Dysfunction and the Pelvic Floor, Sexual Medicine in Pelvic Rehab, Pediatric Level 1 – Treatment of Bowel and Bladder Disorders, and Level 1 & Advanced Integrated Neuromuscular Dry Needling. She leads the practice’s pelvic floor rehab shadowing program for Maine Medical residents. Outside work, Sarah is an avid runner and enjoys being outdoors hiking, biking, and spending time with her family. |
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Helen Harrod Clark, PT, DPT is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA. Helen has a deep love for movement and started her journey as a personal trainer in 2017. She is a believer in life-long learning and is always looking to broaden her knowledge in order to provide the best care possible to those she works with. Her undergraduate degree is in Exercise Science from University of New England. She has always had a passion for working with athletes to help them recover from injury and return to sport with confidence. In 2018, Helen co-founded a company called Breathe to Perform, through which she had the opportunity to work with university athletes to help them improve their breathing mechanics to reduce injury risk and maximize their aerobic capacity. She strongly believes that everyone deserves to know about how their bodies work and prioritizes education in her treatments to help patients recover from injury in the short term, and understand how to reduce injury risk in the long term. Helen holds certifications in Dry Needling and LSVT BIG. With her free time, Helen enjoys running, surfing, hiking, swimming, spending time on the water, and embracing the outdoors. |
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Gretchen French, PT is a graduate of the University of New England, Biddeford ME. She has been a practicing physical therapist since 1987. She specializes in vestibular and balance rehabilitation. She is certified in Dry Needling, KinesioTaping, and Power Plate acceleration training. Gretchen is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in dance. She enjoys incorporating her dance background into exercise and fitness programs, including Pilates reformer. When not working, she enjoys antiquing with her husband,creating and throwing pottery, watching football, and participating in a fantasy football league with her son and husband. |
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Frank Gentile, PT, IMTC is a graduate of University of Vermont, Burlington VT. He has been practicing physical therapy since 1979. Frank also has a BS in Health Science from Boston University, Boston, MA. He has a Certificate in Manual Therapy from the University of St. Augustine in 1988 and certification in Integrative Manual Therapy since 2001. Frank helped to establish the first free standing Orthopedic and Sports private physical therapy practice in Maine in 1981 where he realized that no single approach to treatment is the appropriate approach for every individual. Frank has studied many different forms of hands on manual therapy and was fortunate to train with highly skilled practitioners including Osteopathic Physicians and Physical Therapists. Frank joined the faculty and staff of the Institute of Integrative Manual Therapy and participated in research and development. Frank has taught extensively in manual therapy techniques and incorporates his own treatment techniques from the past 40 years of education and research. Frank was in private practice in Falmouth, ME since 1998 and joined SPTA in January of 2018. |
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Marjorie Haney, PT is a graduate of Boston University, Boston, MA. She has been practicing physical therapy since 1990. Marjorie has a strong background in manual therapy techniques for musculoskeletal dysfunction with extensive training in Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT). She has completed extensive training in pelvic floor rehabilitation and is part of the Pelvic Floor Rehab team at SPTA, working with women with pelvic floor dysfunction and bladder or bowel issues. Marjorie has training in mat Pilates and has taught Modified Pilates for Core Strengthening classes. Marjorie is certified in dry needling, power plate acceleration training, and blood flow restriction training (BFRT). She is constantly furthering her education and learning new skills. Outside of physical therapy, Marjorie enjoys competing and training for Aquabiking triathlons and being physically fit. |
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Debbi-Jo Harvey, PT grew up in Aroostook County until she migrated to Southern Maine to attend college at University of New England in Biddeford. She has been loving practicing physical therapy since 1989. Debbi-Jo has had experience in a variety of settings over the years including work hardening, in-patient and out-patient clinics, skilled nursing facilities and aquatic therapy. She has also specialized in the treatment of TMJ disorders, facial pain and headaches for many years. She has a strong background in manual techniques, is certified in Dry Needling, and has done some Pilates training. Debbi-Jo works with patients with a wide variety of musculoskeletal disorders incorporating manual techniques, stretching, exercise, postural training and modalities. In her free time, she enjoys motorcycle riding with her husband and traveling. They live in Scarborough and have three sons and so far three grandsons who are the light of her life. |
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Sara Hatheway Merrill, MPT is a graduate of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. She has been practicing physical therapy since 1988. Sara specializes in orthopedic and sports physical therapy. She has developed and implemented programs such as Dynamic Lumbar Stabilization for back injury management and in recent years has implemented Pilates for Rehabilitation into her practice. Sara is also certified in the LSVT BIG, a program geared towards treating patients with Parkinson’s disease. Sara has a strong background in manual therapy techniques for the treatment of musculoskeletal dysfunction. She has been certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, KinesoTape Practitioner, Dry Needling for the lower extremity and in Power Plate acceleration training. Sara has taught both Pilates classes and Senior Fitness classes focusing on improving posture, balance, strength, and overall fitness. Sara enjoys working with clients of all ages to help them achieve their goals and reach their full potential. She enjoys spending time with her family, appreciating the outdoors, hiking, biking, and skiing. |
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Laura Hohm, PT, DPT, CFMT is a graduate of Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY. She has been practicing physical therapy since 2006. She has a passion and extensive experience in manual therapy, injury prevention and efficient movement. Laura continued to add to her education in PT and acquired her Certification in Functional Manual Therapy (CFMT) with Honors from the Institute of Physical Art in 2015. Before moving to Maine in 2017, Laura lived and worked in NYC where she combined her love of dance with physical therapy. She was hired to tour with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and later worked at PhysioArts – an outpatient clinic specializing in treatment and injury prevention for Broadway performers. Some of her favorite casts to work with over the years include The Book of Mormon, Newsies, Cats, War Horse, Hamilton, Aladdin, Chicago, Wicked and The Rockettes. Laura has been practicing orthopedics in Southern Maine since 2018 and looks forward to bringing quality care and continued excellence with the team at SPTA. When Laura is not serving clients she enjoys spending time with her two daughters and husband, taking pilates class, ballet barre, spinning, baking and exploring the beaches of Maine. |
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Alexandra Laniewski, PT, DPT is a graduate of Husson University with her undergraduate in Kinesiology and Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She has been practicing since 2014 and has practiced in multiple cities/states including Dover-Foxcroft, ME; Boston, MA; and Denver, CO. She and her fiancé enjoyed exploring and living out West, but ultimately made the decision to come back East to her hometown roots. Being closer to family and friends was at the forefront of their decision to move back. The beach was an added bonus. As a therapist, Alexandra enjoys educating and building strong relationships with patients, using a full-body wellness approach in order to help patients strive to meet their desired goals. She tailors each treatment plan to their individual needs and stays well informed with the most current evidence-based practices. She is passionate about making sure patients have a positive healing environment and experience. She loves treating the whole gamut of orthopedic conditions; post-operatives; concussions; and those with vestibular challenges – for all ages. She is certified in LSVT BIG (for those who have Parkinson’s Disease); Functional Dry Needling (level I & II); SFMA (level I & II). Alexandra can be found spending time with her family and friends; playing soccer, golf, or skiing; working out; game nights; watching the Patriots; and enjoying the beautiful Maine beaches. |
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Alison Ouellette, PT, DPT has been practicing as a physical therapist since graduating from Simmons College in 2003. She has experience working in acute care settings within hospitals, at outpatient clinics and in home health. Alison’s passion is working with women and men who have pelvic floor dysfunctions affecting their bowel, bladder and sexual health. She has seen patients with a wide range of pelvic floor diagnoses over the years. She incorporates manual therapy, postural and body mechanics education, biofeedback and Pilates-based exercise into her treatment approaches. She is also certified in Integrative Neuromuscular Dry Needling. Alison strongly believes in providing education to her patients along their path to wellness so that each of her patients has the knowledge of how to continue with their individual programs at home. When Alison is not working, she can be found spending time with her husband and two daughters. Alison is a life-long inhabitant of Maine and enjoys taking in all that Maine has to offer. |
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Aija Paegle PT, DPT, CFMT, learned early on, as a professional dancer, that knowing how to recover from injury was essential to professional longevity. Neglecting to properly care for the body after injury could result in more injury. Absence from dancing could result in loss of work, career and identity. This may sound dramatic but the hardship of injury is not exclusive to dancers. Recovery is important for everyone. Aija has spent over 20 years helping people recover and refining her knowledge of how the body works and heals. Her education includes B.A in Dance and B.A. in Political Science from the University of California Santa Barbara, M.A. in Physical Therapy from Hunter College, City University of New York, and most recently finished her transition to Doctorate in Physical Therapy with Evidence in Motion. Aija’s specialized certifications include Certified Functional Manual Therapist (2011) and Schroth Method level C2 (2014) which is a specialized 3D treatment approach for scoliosis. Aija received her Pilates certification with the inaugural class at the Pilates Studio in NYC in 1992, having the fortune of apprenticing over 600 hours individually with Pilates protégé, Romana Kryzanowska and master teacher Bob Liekens. Aija worked for the Hospital for Special Surgery(HSS), in NYC for 13 years. Aside from clinic, she taught professional education courses for HSS, developed adjunct courses for the Dept. of Physical Therapy at Columbia University, and lectured at national and international rehabilitation conferences on applications of Pilates to physical therapy. In 2018, she presented at TEDXRiga on a topic she is especially passionate about: Breath. The talk, “Take a breath”, explored how dealing with her own injury or illness made her realize that taking a breath is more than a phrase. Breath is actually one of the most powerful tools of recovery that should be shared with the rest of the world. Aija joined SPTA in 2020. She moved to Maine with her husband in 2019, where both relish the outdoors, fishing, mushroom foraging and the climate that makes them feel much closer to their Latvian roots. |
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Amy W. Pelletier, PT, RYT graduated from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT and has over 20 years of experience working in the field of Physical Therapy. She has varied experience specializing in Neurological Rehabilitation. In 2006, Amy received her Vestibular Rehab Certification from Emory University in Atlanta, GA and has extensive experience working with BPPV, vestibular hypofunction, and post concussive disorders. She also has much experience working with Parkinson’s disease and is LSVT BIG certified since 2015. She has an array of experience working with many neurological and orthopedic conditions. Amy is training with the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute to treat pelvic floor dysfunction. In 2010, Amy completed her 200-hour yoga certification from YogaFit and is a registered yoga teacher. She enjoys blending her yoga knowledge with her treatment plans to match the client’s needs to meet their goals and to improve their overall quality of life. Outside of work, Amy spends her time with her husband and two sons. She enjoys spending time in the mountains and near the ocean, taking in all that Maine has to offer. |
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Ashley Pitchforth, MS, PT attended Ithaca College in New York and obtained a Master’s of Science in Physical Therapy in 1998. Over the 20 years of her career she has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient orthopedics, inpatient rehabilitation, acute care and finally returning to outpatient orthopedic therapy. She has a wide scope of practice and has been building her manual skills over the past few years. She has become certified in the LSVT BIG protocol geared towards treating patients with Parkinson’s disease and has been involved in starting this program at Scarborough Physical Therapy Associates. Her other certifications include Dry Needling (Cert. DN) Part 1 and Part 2. Seeing patients be able to return to activities they love or regain function they have lost is the most rewarding part of physical therapy for her. She is excited to join Scarborough Physical Therapy Associates where she can give patient’s one-on-one attention. In her free time she enjoys running with friends and walking on the beaches of Maine with her husband and two daughters. |
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Susan Ramsey, PT, MA is the Pelvic Floor Rehab Team Leader. When people experience difficulty in their sexual, bladder or bowel function it is not uncommon for the quality of their lives to decrease or unravel. Susan’s passion as a pelvic floor rehab physical therapist is to bring education, support and guidance to women and men dealing with health issues related to their pelvic floor and core. No single approach is the right one for every individual, and therefore Susan has been trained in many different healing techniques including manual therapy, biofeedback . neurological dry needling and Pilates Rehab. She has spent the last twenty five years of her career both deepening her knowledge in, and giving presentations on the benefits of pelvic floor rehab with patients who have sexual, bladder or bowel issues. Susan’s educational background includes a B.S. from Ithaca College in Physical Therapy and an M.A. from the University of Santa Monica in Applied Psychology. Susan lives in Buxton Maine with her family. In her free time Susan enjoys swimming and doing mixed media art in her home studio. She is also a budding herbalist! |
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Susan Thompson-Brown, DPT, RYT (Clinical Manager) has enjoyed a lifelong love of movement and brings this joy to her clinical practice. With a background in dance, choreography, and yoga, she brings a creative and personal approach to treatment. She holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Montana a Masters degree in Physical Therapy from Northern Arizona University, and a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science and Exercise Physiology from the University of Arizona. She specializes in holistic manual therapy techniques, utilizing Integrative Manual Therapy, craniosacral, myofascial release, and other approaches in treatment. Susan is certified through the Dry Needling Institute, is a Certified Mindfulness Practitioner, and has trained in Pilates mat and reformer through APPI. Additionally, she is an experienced yoga instructor, registered through Yoga Alliance. She teaches classes, workshops and professional training through her company, LifeDance – yoga, movement and wellness. Her life philosophy can be described by Rumi: “Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do.” |
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 Practice Administrator  Billing Representative  Patient Care Coordinator |
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 Patient Care Coordinator  Receptionist  Receptionist |
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