My name is Kathryn, but I also go by "Kat”. I love family, nature, hiking and animals. I’m a Licensed Massage Therapist who has trained in many massage and bodywork modalities and chose to specialize in what I've found to be the most effective treatment, John F. Barnes approach to Myofascial Release Therapy.
When I was in massage school, I was told that Massage Therapists have about a 10 year career. They said this is due to either burn out or being injured with some sort of overuse or repetitive strains. That makes sense to me since I saw my friends, who worked in the large spas, doing about 6-8 client sessions a day, and usually 4 days a week. We were eager to work and wanted to help people, so we tend to pile on a lot of work. It takes effort to add in self care and we often just pushed through the pain.
Over the years, I saw some of my friends go, back to school for nursing or physical therapy or other career paths… I also saw them injured and calling out of work.
Another thing I noticed is that I could massage the same client week after week, and I even had a couple clients who received two massages each week, but things weren’t changing. I took a lot of educational classes to be the best massage therapist, and I could do my best work for these clients and nothing seemed to change their issues over time. They would typically feel better for a day or two, sometimes a week or so, and then their issue would pop up again. Massage wasn’t creating lasting results for my clients.
I’ve experienced a lot of pain over the years, injuries from car accidents, falls and other traumas, body tension from overuse, old running injuries, repetitive strain from massage work and workouts. I know how draining it can be when your whole day is focused on pain. What can or can’t you do, being careful not to make it worse, there’s no comfortable position, even for sleep, and not knowing where to go for help, just makes it worse.
I was 5 years into my massage career when I heard about a modality called Myofascial Release, from a massage friend who was taking a couple classes and she described it as being easier on the therapist and giving longer lasting results to the clients. That was what I was looking for! But, when I researched it, the classes were more expensive than I had ever spent on continuing education, up to that point. I believed what my friend had described and I decided to view it like a college course, I’d be bettering myself and furthering my career. Maybe I could work more than 10 years before having to change course…
My first MFR class was in 2012 and when I returned to work the following week , my coworkers wondered what had happened to me. They said I was “glowing”! I had found hope. I had found hope for people. I had learned that there was more I could do to help people with their conditions and with their chronic and unexplained pain. Since then, I have continued taking Barnes’ seminars, practicing the skills and techniques I learn and I receive MFR treatments for my own healing and to experience the treatment.
Now, I see the body as a whole and work to find the cause of the pain/dysfunction instead of just treating the symptoms. I've experienced profound and lasting healing both as a client and a practitioner of MFR, so I know what's possible for you on your healing journey.
I'm committed to providing the best care possible for you so I continue to expand my knowledge and experience. I've been blessed to have received training directly from John F. Barnes, PT, who developed this powerful and effective therapy. Here're the classes I've taken so far: MFR I x 2, MFR II x 2, Unwinding x 2, Advanced Unwinding, Cervical Thoracic x 2, Fascial Pelvis x 2, Myofascial Rebounding, Subtle Energy, Healing Seminar x 2, Quantum Leap, Fascial Cranium, MFR III, T4T (a week of therapy for the therapist), and a Skill Enhancement Seminar, (a week of intensive, internship-style training, at Dr. Barnes' Myofascial treatment center in Sedona, AZ, Therapy on the Rocks).
I'm also a certified Myofascial Yoga instructor (RYT 200), having trained with Christine Wushke of Myofascial Yoga Institute of Canada, so I can help you learn how to self treat and strengthen your body. I look forward to working with you.
