Elke Corinna Schaumberg

Elke Schaumberg PT, MS, DPT, PhD graduated with her Master’s in Physical Therapy from the University of Colorado—Health Sciences Center in 1995, after completing a bachelor’s degree in science at the University of Colorado in Boulder, in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Religious Studies. After 10 years of practice in outpatient physical therapy, where she treated individuals with longstanding pain conditions and served in clinical leadership roles, Dr. Schaumberg completed her t-Doctor in Physical Therapy at Simmons College. In 2020, she completed her PhD in Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in Houston. Her interest in trauma informed care, the pain sciences, and fostering the development of emotional intelligence in DPT students is driven by her goal to improve the quality of care and subsequent quality of life of patients within her community. Dr. Schaumberg’s research interests are centered around three primary topic areas: 1) the examination practices (to include assessing for a history of trauma/abuse) of physical therapists when evaluating individuals with chronic pain, 2) physical therapy interventions (to include the use of CBT techniques) aimed at reducing the central mediation of the pain experience, and 3) entry-level DPT educational interventions aimed at improving affective domain skills in students. Dr. Schaumberg is an Assistant Professor at Johnson & Wales University, where she, in collaboration with colleagues, created a curriculum that emphasized the development of professional behaviors to include strong communication skills, a commitment to advocacy, and the development leadership attributes.