About (this myofascial therapist near) Me

     I am Karen F. Harris, MD, the solo MFR therapist at Real Relief Myofascial Release, LLC... the "myofascial therapist near me" that you may have been searching for.

     I am trained as a conventional allopathic physician (MD). 
I earned my MD degree in 1983 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and am board-certified in Anesthesiology and Anatomic & Clinical Pathology.
     My previous medical career until 2020 was in Anesthesiology for 8 years and then in Pathology for 28 years.
     I have been licensed to practice medicine in the state of Florida since relocating here in 1989.
   
    I first learned about the John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Approach (JFB-MFR) at the end of 2019 as a patient with a nearly-frozen shoulder, during a massage therapy session. This one session resolved a large part of my limited range of motion and pain.

     I was really intrigued! These were better results than I had ever experienced from any type of manual therapy, body work, or complementary/alternative healthcare modality… and I had personally tried many of them for various musculoskeletal issues and other physical issues over the previous decades.

     Soon I was searching Google for "myofascial therapist near me" and learning as much as I could online about John F. Barnes, PT, LMT and his Myofascial Release Approach.
     A couple months later I met John Barnes, was learning from him, and experienced the best eleven days of my life… physically, emotionally, mentally, and in a universal spiritual sense… at a 3-seminar series of hands-on training that he was teaching in Clearwater, Florida… “coincidentally” right where I live, and right after I had retired from my traditional medical practice in Pathology.
     I don’t believe in coincidences. I know that I had slowly been led throughout my entire life and medical career to that seminar and to this life-changing work.

     I wanted to learn even more, so one short month later, I was in awe for five full days in John Barnes’ Sedona treatment clinic, Therapy on the Rocks, immersed in his Skill Enhancement Seminar, honored to be learning from and treating patients with John and his staff of amazing Expert-level therapists.
     I was encouraged by feedback from John, the other therapists, and patients... and more importantly, what I was learning to feel with my own hands happening in the patients tissues.

    When I returned from that early training, I started my JFB-MFR practice informally, treating family and friends during the Covid-19 pandemic, eventually attended many more training seminars, and then officially started my MFR practice in July of 2022. See Reviews.

     As of 12-8-2024, I have been trained in JFB-MFR for a total of 503 hours, including live hands-on seminars that are offered by John F. Barnes, PT and his training staff of Expert-level JFB-MFR Practitioners, as well as two 40-hour Skill Enhancement Seminars, working side-by-side with John and his therapists on their patients in each of his two clinics.  I have received certificates of completion for each of these seminars.
     This level of training qualifies me as an Advanced Level practitioner of JFB-MFR.  I will soon move up to Expert Level in mid-October, 2025 when I will complete another 37 hours of seminar training.
    I have also enhanced my skills with some of the techniques taught in JFB-MFR seminars by completing each of the Upledger Institute’s four-day courses CranioSacral 1 and CranioSacral 2 (a total of 48 hours of live hands-on training), and I hold certificates in Reiki 1 (from 2 different teachers), Reiki 2, and Reiki Master.

     In addition, I also regularly receive MFR treatment from many experienced therapists, and have received several intensive multiple-day multiple-session treatments at Therapy on the Rocks in Sedona, Arizona and also with some local therapists where I live.
     Frequent training and frequent treatment are part of a life-long process of continually improving my skills and receiving treatment for my own myofascial restrictions.
     Experiencing the healing touch of many therapists has been a wonderful process of healing, personal discovery, and professional learning … and just the beginning of a life-long investment by me that is critical for enabling me to help you in your healing journey.   
     To quote/paraphrase John F. Barnes, PT, "You can only help your patients to go as far as you've been willing to go."

     Now that you have found your "myofascial release therapist near me", schedule your Initial Evaluation & MFR Treatment Session to experience what JFB-MFR can do to help you live your best life.