I am Karen F. Harris, MD, the solo MFR therapist at Real Relief Myofascial Release, LLC.

     I am trained as a conventional 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.

    After that I learned as much as I could online about John F. Barnes, PT, LMT and his Myofascial Release Approach, and soon 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 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, registered for more seminars, and then officially started my MFR practice. See Reviews.

     I have now attended a total of 12 of the 18 different training seminars taught by John F. Barnes, PT and his training staff of expert-level JFB-MFR therapists.  These seminars have provided me with 212 hours of live hands-on training, including the 40-hour Skill Enhancement Seminar at John Barnes' treatment center, Therapy on the Rocks, assisting John and his staff in treating their patients. 
    I have received certificates of completion for each of these seminars, qualifying me as an intermediate-level practitioner of JFB-MFR.
    JFB-MFR is not a formal medical specialty.  It is a Complementary &  Alternative therapy that can be added to the treatment offerings of any licensed healthcare professional.

    I also regularly receive MFR treatment from many experienced therapists, and have received intensive multiple-day multiple-session treatment at Therapy on the Rocks. Both continual training and treatment are 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.  To quote/paraphrase John F. Barnes, PT, "You can only help your patients to let go of as much as you've been willing to release."