Dr Matthews
I knew that I would become a doctor at the age of five when I watched my newborn sister undergo serial casting for a clubbed foot. I watched all the patients with casts and crutches as they came and left the doctor’s office. Despite my young age, I had no doubt about my decision as much as it was a profound recognition of who I was meant to become.
I studied psychology and biology at Rice University, where I graduated in 1972. I entered the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine with the notion that I might become a psychiatrist, yet there I was at an institution best known for training Family Practitioners with specialized skills for treating musculoskeletal conditions. By my sophomore year, I became intrigued by mind-body and alternative medicine. I envisioned combining complementary and alternative healing with my skills in osteopathic manipulation and Family Practice. After a rotating internship in Columbus, Ohio, I returned to Chicago to enter a psychiatric residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. After nearly a year, I left to go into Family Practice instead. I realized that there was a difference in studying psychiatry as an area of interest and making it a career.
I started practicing Family Medicine on the south side of Chicago. I was on the faculty of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine as a Clinical Instructor and taught third and fourth year students at my office. I was applying the knowledge that I had obtained in Psychiatry to Family Practice. I also received training in Clinical Hypnosis eventually receiving certification by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.
In 1983, I moved to the Seattle area. I soon set up a Family Practice in Redmond. I expanded my training in osteopathic manipulation to include cranio-sacral and visceral manipulation. In 1986, I studied Healing Touch, Reiki, and read books relating to energy medicine. I became a Reiki Master. I routinely treat many of my patients with energy healing the results of which are usually felt immediately.
I began one of the first Integrative Medical Centers on the Eastside, bringing in acupuncturists, massage therapists, psychotherapists, Naturopaths, a Biofeedback practitioner, and other holistic Osteopathic and Allopathic Physicians. I was on staff at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland for many years. After leaving Redmond, I worked in three other offices with holistic practitioners.
I do not prescribe opioids or other controlled substances, but I can refer to some of the few practitioners who still do. My practice is devoted exclusively to Integrative Pain Management. I love my work helping people to heal, grow and learn.
