While working for the Fort Myers News Press in her early 20s, Robyn Berry, the owner of R B Institute Inc., in Fort Myers, was involved in a serious car accident. Thrown from her vehicle, she suffered a broken neck. Enduring extreme pain from the injury as well as diverticulitis, Berry quickly learned that traditional medicine did not have answers to her healing needs. That realization launched a long, complex, in-depth learning journey.

Before computers were used to store and access information on the breadth of valuable healing knowledge in naturopathic medicine, Berry studied and became proficient in herbology, homeopathy, iridology and reflexology. She became a licensed massage therapist and healed her diverticulitis with colonics and many regular detoxes and cleanses throughout the years. Today, “She Brings Medicine”, by which Berry is known by in her Native American culture, freely shares her collection of detox recipes with clients.

In the early 90's as a community educator, Berry began bringing natural medicine to her community when she rented the First Federal Bank of Fort Myers community room. Focusing on a different body system each month, she offered a free, two-hour teaching session to the public. Consistently drawing 25 to 50 people, she educated attendees in layman’s terms about imbalances in the body that cause disease within the system she highlighted. Citing specific herbs, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, fatty acids, probiotics and enzymes that could be used as a support for the body, she advised how supplements and plant medicine could help the body balance itself, allow individuals to achieve wellness and live a healthier lifestyle. 

"My patients became my teachers. As people came to me for help, I had to expand my understanding and my skill set to accommodate the things I was seeing in multidimensional layers with each patient. I did not do this alone, thanks to numerous good doctors in our area and some who were not. They taught me a lot and I referred clients to them,” says Berry.

Encouraged by numerous friends and mentors to keep learning, growing, increasing the depth of her knowledge and expanding her menu of services, Berry reflects upon the fields of expertise and the experts from which she benefitted. “I learned from chiropractors, holistic dentists, acupuncturists, doctors of Oriental medicine, as well as medical and osteopathic doctors. I’m very grateful for being able to learn from highly regarded individuals such as Bernard Jensen, ND, Dwight Byers, Judy King, Charles Dugan, DC, Kirk Chris, DC, John Upledger, DO, John Pierre Barral ,DO, Bruno Chikly, DO, Herschel Stanford, DC, Jim Ledder, Sanibel scientist, John Fry, DC, Steve Nedd, DC, Steve Atwood, DC, Robert Davis, DC, Steve Racine, DC, Jay Holder, DC, Isali Ben Jacob, AP, DAOM, Buck Campbell, DAOM, Ray Behm, DDS, Gary Pynckel, DO, Frank Shallenberger, M.D., and Ross Hauser, M.D. I want to recognize these amazing people for the important part they played in my personal healing journey and for their wisdom I was able to share within my community,” shares Berry.

She uses the quote, “It takes a village to raise a child,” to explain how many expertly trained professionals it takes to create a connected healing community where everyone shares and works together faithfully for many years in service for the good of all. “It’s good for people to understand that because everything in the body is connected, healing is never about addressing one thing. It takes a village of practitioners trained in various healing modalities to create the perspective of connectedness and wholeness that is missing from conventional medicine. It also takes a community of health practitioners to teach individuals how they can shift their wellness by lifestyle and diet changes,” she says.

Actively serving the community for nearly 30 years, Berry takes time to train and receive certifications in the areas of sports therapy and rehabilitation, colonic hydrotherapy, nutritional and lifestyle counseling, CranioSacral Therapy, visceral manipulation, lymphatic drainage, sound and vibrational therapies, ozone modalities, the best uses of the ionic foot detox bath, infrared sauna, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, power plate rehabilitation exercises and PEMF therapies such as the BEMER 2000 HD, used by many chiropractors. She recently completed certification in traditional Thai massage and is training for a doctorate in Thai medicine. She offers all these services under one roof at RB Institute. The institute also rents wellness suites to like-minded wellness professionals in need of office space for offering different modalities and wellness services to the local community. 

Currently renting space are Aga, a European-trained esthetician who offers organic skin care, mental health coach and counselor Rebecca Morely and Elise Kaplovitz, a Gyrotonics and Pilates instructor also trained in Gyro Kinesis movement therapy, which retrains the brain and muscles to work in synergy and balance. The institute currently has three rooms available and is seeking an acupuncturist, as well as a nurse practitioner, that can start a personalized IV therapy boutique.

RB Institute, Inc. is located at 13550 Reflections Pkwy., Ste. 5-502 and 5-503, in Fort Myers. For appointments and more information, call 239-939-4646 or visit RobynBerry.com.

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