Academy Leadership Pathway Spotlight: Darla B. Cathcart, PT, DPT, PhD, WCS
Positions Served
President, President-Elect, Vice President, Director of Education, Journal submission reviewer, CAPP-OB Committee Chair and Member, Residency Committee Member, Research Grant Reviewer Task Force
Motivation & Decision to Run
The inspiration to run for election in all the positions I have served in has arisen from a desire to be connected to and engaged in our professional community and to contribute my personal strengths to the work and vision of APTA Pelvic Health.
The factors that have led to saying "yes" to leadership roles have been answering these questions: Is this a role to which I can contribute value? Am I able to meet the time and task requirements? Is this the right time in my personal and work life to step into this role? I have learned over time that I don't need to ask if I know enough - rather, I ask if I'm willing to learn the role.
For someone who is unsure if they are ready, I would encourage them in two ways: One, ask others who have been in the role (or a similar role) before. Learn about what the role requires, the time commitment, and how are new people in the role supported in learning the role.
Two, you don't need to know everything to get involved! If you have the excitement, willingness to learn, and commitment to carry out the role, then go for it!
Skills & Professional Growth
In every role, I have learned a great deal. Being a part of the Board of Directors and leading and serving in committees and tasks forces has taught me a great deal in the realms of communication, organization, and prioritization. I strengthened my skills of collaborative work, collegial discussions, and idea generation, and encouraged multiple voice and view points. I feel all of this has better prepared me for my current job in the clinic, in which I am responsible for developing or updating processes and procedures. I have learned the importance and value of seeking input from all stakeholders - everyone has a valuable viewpoint to be considered. I am also learning how to engage productively in more difficult conversations where viewpoints may differ or where accountability is needed. Beyond all of this, I have also really learned to value the strengths that every person brings - we all have differing strengths, skills, and knowledge, and can all learn from and lean on one another. When well orchestrated, all these varying individual strengths can pull together for better and higher outcomes.
Involvement & Pathways
I first got involved with the CAPP-OB Committee and the Residency Committee concurrently. I heard about these early opportunities through colleagues who reached out to me to consider these roles. These experiences shaped me as I was encouraged by and learned from experienced volunteers in these groups.
I also want to encourage people who have put themselves forward and not been elected to try again. I ran for a position early on in my career and did not win, but I tried again! Trust that you'll come into the right role at the right time, and that the experience of being nominated and not elected is also a learning experience, not a failure.
Impact & Benefits
More recently, in the President-elect/President role, I came into leadership at a time when APH was experiencing great growth in the CAPP educational courses and needing to have the structure updated to support and allow further growth. Due to my previous experiences with serving and leading in the CAPP-OB committee, developing and teaching courses, I was able to bring a wide variety of viewpoints into this structure update. Pulling in the voices of all our CAPP volunteers, instructors, teaching assistants, staff, and the Board of Directors required thoughtful intention, processes, and time. This culminated in hiring our new Education Program Manager (EPM), which was a beautiful "ah, I was here at the right time and this is why I serve!" moment. I always want to leave something better and that will outlast me. I felt like the result of bringing on and supporting (along with the entire Board) our new EPM to jump in and "own" her role to really bolster APH education is a crowning legacy moment in my volunteership.
Value of Service
Very often there are voices saying "the Academy of Pelvic Health should be doing (fill in the blank)." My response to those voices is "Get involved! Be the change you want to see!" The APH is the members it serves! When you volunteer, you are serving not only your profession and colleagues, but also yourself. You are developing camaraderie with the APH community. The collaborative work done by the APH through its membership is volunteer work and serves to better and support each and every one of us. If you have ideas for improvements or changes, then get involved! Before asking someone else to accomplish your ideas, come to the table and bring them yourself. Who better than the person with the idea to jump in and volunteer!
What would you tell a colleague who doesn’t think they’re “qualified enough” to run?
There is a quote that "every expert was once a beginner." No one comes into a new role knowing everything they need to know. If you are willing to learn, ask others for help and advice, and bring your voice, ideas, and contributions to the table, then you can learn the role. Every role I have served in has required a fresh learning experience, and each prior role has taught me a great deal to be prepared for the next one. I encourage colleagues who want to be involved but feel unprepared to put themselves out there and get involved!
About Darla B. Cathcart, PT, DPT, PhD, Board-Certified Women's Health Specialist, PT, DPT, PhD - Board Certified Women's Health Clinical Specialist, Certificate of Advanced Practice in Physical Therapy - Pelvic and OB
Darla Cathcart, PT, DPT, PhD, WCS, CLT (she/her) graduated from Louisiana State University (Shreveport, LA) with her physical therapy degree, performed residency training in Women’s Health PT at Duke University, and completed a Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences. Her dissertation research focused on using non-invasive brain stimulation to augment behavioral interventions for women with lifelong vaginismus, and her ongoing line of research focuses on painful intercourse and post-Cesarean rehabilitation.
Dr. Cathcart’s certifications and training include Women’s Health Certified Specialist (WCS, board certification through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties); Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy (CAPP-Pelvic); Certificate of Achievement in Pregnancy & Postpartum Physical Therapy (CAPP-OB); and Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT).
Dr. Cathcart is the Director of Clinical Excellence and Education at Pelvic Health Solutions, overseeing clinical performance, education, and mentoring of pelvic health physical therapists. She has worked in hospital-based outpatient pelvic/perinatal clinics and has owned a private outpatient pelvic and perinatal clinic. Darla has served as a full-time faculty member in the physical therapy programs at the University of Central Arkansas and at Graceland University.
Dr. Cathcart has several peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed scientific publications, including: The Physical Therapist’s Guide to Women’s Pelvic, Perinatal, and Reproductive Health (Taylor & Francis, 2025); “Clinical Summary: Urinary Incontinence” for PTNow.org in April 2015; the chapter titled “The Female Hip and Pelvis” in Orthopedic Management of the Hip and Pelvis (S Cheatham, M Kolber, Elsevier, 2015). She chaired the Certificate of Achievement in Pregnancy/Postpartum (CAPP-OB) committee. Darla has spoken and instructed many courses in local, national, and international settings on a variety of pelvic, pregnancy/postpartum, and other women’s health physical therapy topics. She currently serves as the President for the Academy of Pelvic Health of the American Physical Therapy Association and has previously served as the Director of Education (2011-2014) and as Vice President (2015-2016). She also served as a technical expert panel member on Treatments for Fecal Incontinence, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2014-2015. She volunteered as a Women’s Health Certified Specialist Exam Standardization Task Force member in May 2013. Darla received several awards from the Section on Women’s Health: CAPP-OB Instructor of the Year (2017); Course Site Hostess of the Year (2018); and Volunteer of the Year (2015). She also received Clinical Instructor of the Year while serving as a clinical instructor a pelvic health physical therapy student from Elon University in 2011.
On a personal note, Darla has teenage twin boys. She is a lifelong runner and exerciser who loves dark chocolate, craft beer, and her four dogs.
