I loved getting to know Christina Saldanha, PA. She was so easy to talk to, and clearly passionate about her new practice. After what seems like years of the big hospital practices taking over, it is so exciting to have access to small personal healthcare in Winston Salem. Here’s what she had to say….

I loved getting to know Christina Saldanha, PA. She was so easy to talk to, and clearly passionate about her new practice. After what seems like years of the big hospital practices taking over, it is so exciting to have access to small personal healthcare in Winston Salem. Here’s what she had to say….

1)    Tell us the name of your clinic and what kind of service you provide.

1)    Tell us the name of your practice and what kind of service you provide.

My name is Christina Saldanha, and I am a women’s health PA specializing in sex counseling, sex medicine, and menopause.  My clinic name is Camel City Women’s Wellness, and I provide a very unique treatment for women.
My patients are women 18 years and older who have concerns about painful sex, low libido/desire, perimenopause concerns, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and more! Anyone who has concerns about their sexuality or their sex life,
My name is Christina Saldanha, and I am a women’s health PA specializing in sex counseling, sex medicine, and menopause.  My clinic name is Camel City Women’s Wellness, and I provide a very unique treatment for women.
My patients are women 18 years and older who have concerns about painful sex, low libido/desire, perimenopause concerns, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and more! Anyone who has concerns about their sexuality or their sex life,

2)    How did you get involved with this discipline of healthcare/wellness?

2)    How did you get involved with this discipline of healthcare/wellness?

I laugh when people ask me this questions, because I can’t help but think my journey started when I was in 4th grade.  My mom sat me down to talk to me about puberty, and it was in that moment I was fascinated by woman’s bodies and how it changes over our life!

After I got my Master’s degree in human physiology, I became a yoga teacher.  I taught yoga for 3 years before I decided that I truly wanted to work with woman from a medical perspective, which is how I found myself at PA school. 

After becoming a mother myself, and recognizing how much the traditional medical model leaves out when addressing women’s wellness (ie the menopause transition and sexuality), I decided to seek out a little (okay A LOT) of additional training on these items.  At first, the training was just to help inform me so that when I was one on one with women patients, I could answer their questions.  However, my passion continued to grow and evolve, and I felt that the only choice I had in order to serve women the best I could would be to open my own practice.

I laugh when people ask me this questions, because I can’t help but think my journey started when I was in 4th grade.  My mom sat me down to talk to me about puberty, and it was in that moment I was fascinated by woman’s bodies and how it changes over our life!

After I got my Master’s degree in human physiology, I became a yoga teacher.  I taught yoga for 3 years before I decided that I truly wanted to work with woman from a medical perspective, which is how I found myself at PA school. 

After becoming a mother myself, and recognizing how much the traditional medical model leaves out when addressing women’s wellness (ie the menopause transition and sexuality), I decided to seek out a little (okay A LOT) of additional training on these items.  At first, the training was just to help inform me so that when I was one on one with women patients, I could answer their questions.  However, my passion continued to grow and evolve, and I felt that the only choice I had in order to serve women the best I could would be to open my own practice.

Christina Saldanha, PA of Camel City Women's Wellness

Camel City Women’s Wellness
115 S. Stratford Rd.
Winston Salem NC 27103

christina@camelcitywomenswellness.com

 Camelcitywomenswellness.com

Camel City Women’s Wellness
115 S. Stratford Rd.
Winston Salem NC 27103

christina@camelcitywomenswellness.com

 Camelcitywomenswellness.com

3)    What are reasons that people come to see you? 

3)    What are reasons that people come to see you? 

In general, people come to see me because they are seeking an answer that at least one other health care provider was unable to help them with.  Whether that is from hot flashes to painful intercourse to recurrent UTIs, that is usually how they come to me.  They usually come feeling defeated, or that there isn’t actually anything that can be done, but they still feel a little hopeful. 

More specifically, the majority of sex counseling patients come to me with concerns for low or no sex desire.  My menopause patients come to see me for hot flashes, mood fluctuations, poor sleep.  I also have a handful of otherwise healthy women, but whom haven’t seen a health care provider for routine health check up due to busy schedules, business owners, moms, etc, and I typically see them for well woman exams.  The nice thing is, my patients don’t have to wait on me.  I see them at their appointment time, and their visit is focused on their concerns.

In general, people come to see me because they are seeking an answer that at least one other health care provider was unable to help them with.  Whether that is from hot flashes to painful intercourse to recurrent UTIs, that is usually how they come to me.  They usually come feeling defeated, or that there isn’t actually anything that can be done, but they still feel a little hopeful. 

More specifically, the majority of sex counseling patients come to me with concerns for low or no sex desire.  My menopause patients come to see me for hot flashes, mood fluctuations, poor sleep.  I also have a handful of otherwise healthy women, but whom haven’t seen a health care provider for routine health check up due to busy schedules, business owners, moms, etc, and I typically see them for well woman exams.  The nice thing is, my patients don’t have to wait on me.  I see them at their appointment time, and their visit is focused on their concerns.

4)     What is a FAQ that you get all the time, and how do you respond?

4)     What is a FAQ that you get all the time, and how do you respond?

“What can I expect?”
I laugh and say, good questions! Most of the time I enter a visit with little to no expectations.  The reason is, I want you to drive the visit.  My expectation is that you are open and honest and open to being vulnerable.  I let you tell me your story, and then we make a plan. 
I pride myself on being trauma-informed and solution-focused.  Meaning you will leave with an understanding of the forefront problem as well as a plan on how we are going to work together to correct this.  After your first visit, I send you a document with an overview of what we discuss as well as the specific recommendations and homework items for you.
“What can I expect?”
I laugh and say, good questions! Most of the time I enter a visit with little to no expectations.  The reason is, I want you to drive the visit.  My expectation is that you are open and honest and open to being vulnerable.  I let you tell me your story, and then we make a plan. 
I pride myself on being trauma-informed and solution-focused.  Meaning you will leave with an understanding of the forefront problem as well as a plan on how we are going to work together to correct this.  After your first visit, I send you a document with an overview of what we discuss as well as the specific recommendations and homework items for you.

5)     Tell us about a patient you have helped. 

5)     Tell us about a patient you have helped. 

I recently had a patient tell me that she had made more progress with me after a few sessions than she had with a therapist she worked with for 2 years.  She told me that I just understood sexuality and understood how to help her.
In her case, she was struggling with low desire.  The issue was a mis-matched sexual communication with her partner.  It took 1-2 sessions to uncover this, and 2-3 sessions to get them to a health communication pattern, redefined their “sexual script”, and help them understand the differences in desires and pleasure patterns.  They were back to having sex with one another and endorsed that they hadn’t had mutually pleasurable sex in over a decade!
I recently had a patient tell me that she had made more progress with me after a few sessions than she had with a therapist she worked with for 2 years.  She told me that I just understood sexuality and understood how to help her.
In her case, she was struggling with low desire.  The issue was a mis-matched sexual communication with her partner.  It took 1-2 sessions to uncover this, and 2-3 sessions to get them to a health communication pattern, redefined their “sexual script”, and help them understand the differences in desires and pleasure patterns.  They were back to having sex with one another and endorsed that they hadn’t had mutually pleasurable sex in over a decade!
Christina Saldanha, PA of Camel City Women's Wellness

6)    What is something you want everyone to know?

6)    What is something you want everyone to know?

Can it be more than one thing 🙂
  1. Sex is not supposed to be painful.
  2. Only 4% of women can orgasm from vaginal penetration alone.  Most need clitoral stimulation.
  3. Hormone therapy (systemic and local, vaginal) is safe.
  4. Eighty percent of post menopausal women will have anatomical changes in the vulva, and the very effective and safe answer to this is vaginal estrogen.
Can it be more than one thing 🙂
  1. Sex is not supposed to be painful.
  2. Only 4% of women can orgasm from vaginal penetration alone.  Most need clitoral stimulation.
  3. Hormone therapy (systemic and local, vaginal) is safe.
  4. Eighty percent of post menopausal women will have anatomical changes in the vulva, and the very effective and safe answer to this is vaginal estrogen.

7)    How can someone work with you?

7)    How can someone work with you?

I see patients in person and virtual.  I am located off 115 South Stratford Road in Winston Salem NC, inside Camel City Wellness. If women are interested, they can reach out by email (christina@camelcitywomenswellness.com) or request an appointment online www. Camelcitywomenswellness.com

I see patients in person and virtual.  I am located off 115 South Stratford Road in Winston Salem NC, inside Camel City Wellness. If women are interested, they can reach out by email (christina@camelcitywomenswellness.com) or request an appointment online www. Camelcitywomenswellness.com

It’s great that new choices are available right in our own back yard here in Winston Salem. Follow @reliefphysicaltherapy on social media for more info about healthcare in Winston Salem and the Triad.

It’s great that new choices are available right in our own back yard here in Winston Salem. Follow @reliefphysicaltherapy on social media for more info about healthcare in Winston Salem and the Triad.