Wholistic Physical Therapy

Wholistic Physical Therapy

For more than 2 decades I have practiced and grown to become the best person I can, to consult if you want to improve your health. Patients come from all over the world to my clinic: Wholistic Physical Therapy: WPT, which is a beautiful, free standing building, an hour or so north of NYC, near a train line and easily accessible by plane or car off Route 22 in Brewster NY, which is on the border of Westchester and Putnam counties, close to major highways like I-84 and I-684.

WPT will always seek to add tremendous value in your life! Thanks for coming here. www.wholisticpt.com is our clinic website. Founded in 2002 by Scott van Niekerk, WPT has become one of the country’s TOP treatment centers for an amazing form of integrative physical therapy along the lines of Functional Medicine. Myofascial Release (MFR), Visceral Manipulation and other advanced manual therapies are some of the tools by which we get the best results possible.

MISSION: Inspire Healthier Living in those I meet and come across on a daily basis, to help people move towards a painfree active lifestyle, full of vitality and purpose.

Scott hires and trains other Physical Therapists, so that regardless of whom you see, you can be assured of an outstanding level of clinical care, to help you reach your health goals. Scott believes personally in a WHOLE mind-body-spirit approach, hence the business name with a "W"! 😉 which I invented in 2002! Wholistic physical therapy, I envision is just better; it is a practice of our craft focusing on treating the body and mind as a whole instead of one specific area. This includes natural health promotion and pain management lifestyle techniques like nutrition guidance, exercise / movement, essential oils, meditation, yoga etc.

We are specialists in incredible forms of hands on therapy called Myofascial Release, Cranial work and Visceral Manipulation. These are advanced forms of bodywork that relieves pain and dysfunction.

Our clinic has a chic, very mellow, spa like atmosphere, with soft music, and above all ONE-ON-ONE attention to each client for a whole hour with the Physical Therapist. As well as their traditional PT training, all the Physical Therapists are licensed, experienced and highly skilled. All have specialty training from past treasures like John Barnes, PT (the founder of Myofascial Release) in his approach - Myofascial Release, and Jean Pierre Barral  (the founder of Visceral Manipulation) and Moshe Feldenkrais (a specialised movement therapy)

Website Address
WholisticPhysicalTherapy.com

Contact Information

1591 Route 22
Bld 3
Brewster, New York 10509
US

tel. 845.940.1050 (day)
fax. 845.940.1051

scottvan1@comcast.net

Facebook

My Skills

Every person is a unique expression of source, and each treatment is different and beautiful, tuned in as best as possible to exactly what your needs are in the moment of coming together. 
I am Scott, I am here, committed to the path of human transformation, as a friend, a fellow seeker, to offer you light on your path to your unique personal home. Holding a space for you of professional / unconditional love, beauty, grace, authenticity, purpose and passion, wherever and however you may choose to journey.

As well as their traditional PT training, all the Physical Therapists working with/for Scott are licensed PT's, experienced and highly skilled. All have specialty training from the ones who have gone before, we stand on the shoulders of Giants; past treasures like John Barnes, PT (the founder of Myofascial Release) in his approach - Myofascial Release, and Jean Pierre Barral  (the founder of Visceral Manipulation), Robin McKenzie, GD Maitland, Moshe Feldenkrais (a specialised movement therapy) and more.

More about Fascia

Scott taught Myofascial Release (MFR) seminars for John Barnes for many years (15) all over the country to doctors, PT's, massage therapists, nurses etc. He is a national expert in the subject, and the therapist to the therapists.

The human body is not a series of separate structures, compartmentalized into joints and muscles. It is an interconnected group of cells and tissue fibers from all different systems.  One common thread among all systems is the tissue called fascia or Myofascia. The fascial system forms the membranes around the brain and spinal cord. It is the sheath on the outside of the nerve roots and peripheral nerves. It encases the muscles, forms the muscle bundles, and surrounds the muscle fibers inside the muscles. It becomes part of the periosteum of the bones and it surrounds and supports the internal organs. Fascia is a web like matrix that travels throughout the entire body, the connective tissue, connecting everything.

When an injury, trauma, or surgery occurs, the site of impact is not the only place affected on the body. Internal inflammation and restrictions run throughout the body on the fascial system even if it is not at the direct site of the ailment. Holistic physical therapy takes this into account, and treats the whole fascial system and the associated structures instead of focusing on one specific part.

The goal of wholistic physical therapy is to heal the entire body from an injury or ailment through several specialized techniques that promote the regeneration and rehabilitation of the body as a whole.

How does Wholistic Physical Therapy differ from traditional Physical Therapy?
 
Not all physical therapy is created equal.

Traditional physical therapy is based upon the treatment of a closed muscle group with the specific goal of repairing an injury. It is a suitable form of treatment for some patients, especially acute/sports injuries; but it does not address the whole system which leaves the body at a greater risk for reinjury.

A wholistic approach to physical therapy is vastly different from the more traditional therapy as it treats the body and mind as a whole instead of only improving the function of one specific part.  Because we look at the person as a whole our treatments require less frequent appointments.  While a traditional physical therapy office would see you two to three times a week, we see our patients once a week to once every three weeks.  Despite the lower frequency we often achieve superior results.  

Why choose a Wholistic approach?

​While recovering from an injury, there are several steps that must be taken in order to ensure that a full recovery takes place. A wholistic approach not only focuses on the specific area that is affected, but realizes that the entire body must heal as well, physically, mechanically, emotionally, nutritionally and sometimes spiritually too.

Whether you are recovering from trauma, post-surgery, or a sports related injury, there is more to your injury than you might realize. The physical inflammation and irritations run deep into the fascial system and can become ingrained in our neurological system if not treated. Traditional physical therapy neglects this aspect of healing, which can leave patients frustrated and wondering why they have lingering symptoms.

License Number

NY016861

Hours of operation / Fees

Please call for fee details.

Hours are 5 days a week, closed on weekends

Driving directions

Our address is

1591 Route 22, Brewster, NY

Available for patients

Case studies, easy to understand explanations about the CranioSacral System, Visceral Manipulation, products to use between sessions, and much more.

More Information