Featured NESH Alumnus: Matthew Strickland ND
Matthew Strickland, ND
Durham, North Carolina
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The story about how I became a doctor has many twists and turns, but has its roots in my own experience with the medical system.
When I was 12 years old I was diagnosed with a bad case of what the doctor thought was a stomach flu. When I didn’t get better, the diagnosis was changed to Giardia. After months of taking drugs that were ineffective, and with further testing, I received the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease.
Over the next two decades, I got to personally know how the conventional medical system treats disease – the things it gets right and the things it doesn’t. My doctors were well trained with the tools they had (drugs and surgery), but their perspectives were limited to those two tools. I knew from personal experience that there were other things that could have an effect on health, but when I brought these up during a visit – things like diet or supplements – I was told they didn’t matter or didn’t work.
After graduating with a degree in chemistry and being in the working world for a few years I saw a naturopathic doctor and by the end of the visit knew that was what I wanted to do with my life. She was well trained in the scientific side of medicine, but also was able to talk about diet, stress, exercise, and supplements. She took the time to listen to my whole story; the visit was over an hour long. This was how medicine was supposed to be practiced.
I graduated with my doctorate in naturopathic medicine in 2015 and during that time learned about homeopathy. I was skeptical, but open minded, that such diluted substances could have an effect on human health. After taking the NESH course with Paul and Amy and using homeopathy as a student clinician I was convinced of its effectiveness. In my practice homeopathy has become one of the most powerful tools I use, at times, and I’m saying this without exaggeration, transforming lives. Paul and Amy are fantastic teachers, and I’m enjoying continuing to learn with them through clinical classes and another NESH full course.
Finishing up the tiny house build!
Outside of health and medicine I’ve had an interest in the tiny house movement for a while and finished my first tiny house build last year, complete with a loft and wood stove! I still remember carting out the first pile of lumber from Home Depot thinking “what the heck am I doing”, but I love the challenge of learning something new. The feeling of it being a building that I built with my own hands was more than worth the months of physical labor and inevitable challenges of a building project. When I don’t have a saw in my hand or a stethoscope around my neck you can find me on a hiking trail, a dance floor, or just sitting down reading a good book.
From NESH: We have worked with Matthew for going on 9 years now. He attended our Seattle 2013-14 Course, various Clinical Classes, & is now jumping in for another round at our East Coast 2020-22 Course. And while I (Paul) could focus on his intelligence, personality, or the good works he has done since being in naturopathic medical school, I wanted to focus on and celebrate his more current work and practice. Matthew is one of the doctors who moved to a region of the country and began working on passing a law for the full practice of naturopathic medicine, which includes homeopathy. While many work on getting a practice going, many others also work on establishing new laws actively by working on the law or simply by settling in a new area and starting practice. In many ways, Matthew represents many of our students and colleagues who work tirelessly to make the world a little bit easier to live in, here helping to deliver care in regions of the country that do not currently offer this care. Amy and I have done this work for 35 years. We know it is not easy, and working on drafting and ushing in new laws is not always that much fun, but it is necessary. And while we may not always say it, here, to you all, and to you Matthew, Amy joins me in saying thank you. We appreciate the work and know we are better for it!
Professional Highlights:
• 2020-2021: Cases published in Naturopathic Doctor News and Review (NDNR)
• 2016-Present: Vice President North Carolina Association of Naturopathic Physicians
• 2015-Present: Naturopathic Doctor at my private practice Southeastern Integrative Health and Wellness
• 2015: Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University Seattle, WA
• 2013: Creator of the podcast The ND Update
• 2013-2014: New England School of Homeopathy (NESH) Course in Seattle, WA
• 2004: Bachelors of Science in Chemistry, Dean’s List, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Matt is our March 2021 Featured Alumnus. Return to NESH Alumni Spotlight page to learn about other distinguished NESH alumni.