Medical Doctor Richard DiCenso Discusses Whole Person Therapy

In this article, Richard DiCenso shares on the uniqueexistence and maintains everything in existence. So
Matrix Assessment Profile. Richard DiCenso is athe answer is that it's both inside and out.
doctor, author and leading authority on whole personKevin: Okay. That's pretty cool. Now, you've seen
therapy and author of Exploring A New Way ofover your time different elements that contribute to
Thinking.physical symptoms.
Kevin: Well, why don't you tell us a little bit aboutRichard: Yes.
yourself and how you got from being a medicalKevin: What are some of those? I know some of
doctor to finding this book, Beyond Medicine, thatthem are listed in your book. Can we just run over
there was more out there than what we think.one or two or three of them?
Richard: Well, part of my frustration was in myRichard: Obviously, if you are in an automobile
training, because I went from discipline to discipline toaccident and you experience physical pain, then the
discipline over a period of years and it includedcause-and-effect is relatively straightforward,
everything from medicine to chiropractic to forensicsalthough the reason for the accident may not be as
to acupuncture to trauma rehabilitation, humaneasy to understand, but we won't go there yet.
biochemistry and nutrition and what I found is thatThat's part of another realm, but then you
every discipline was that there was a formula to aexperience physical symptoms and particularly if you
recipe approach and when I started looking at peopledon't know why you're experiencing them then,
with symptoms and looking at the different disciplinesthat's where we start with the analysis, is where
I found that each discipline had their own approach toyou're experiencing the symptoms. So I'm
the same symptoms, but none of the disciplinesexperiencing physical pain. We look at the physical
attempted to identify the cause of the symptomsstructure. It can be associated with repetitive
and that's when I stepped back from all themovements, prolonged positional stress. It can be
disciplines and started to look at what is it that all ofassociated with a nutritional deficiency, or it could be
these symptoms have in common and in the finalassociated with some kind of cycle or emotional
analysis in its simplest form, I found that allimbalance or inconsistency that expresses itself as a
symptoms are simply symptoms, that they are justphysical symptom. For instance, a child that doesn't
the net result of an imbalance, or deficiency that'swant to go to school, because he's being bullied gets
progress over a period of time to exhibit itself asthis horrendous stomach ache and they take him to
symptoms and in a worst-case scenario, athe doctor and they can't find anything, but they put
diagnosable the thieves.him on bed rest and it becomes a recurrent
Kevin: So for instance, fibromyalgia is a symptom ofexperience, a physical experience and then over time
--it is identified and dealt with, it will lead to other
Richard: Some imbalance or deficiency. It can be aforms of behavior and other physical experiences and
different one for each person. That's interesting partthings are just going to be unsolvable, because
of it, because if there were a simplethey're looking in the wrong place for the source of
cause-and-effect, we'd have it already and therethe physical pain or discomfort or symptoms.
would be a cure.Kevin: Wow. That's an incredible explanation of how it
Kevin: Okay.all works. How do you assess that, though, with
Richard: It is a name for a group of symptoms that amodern or conventional medicine?
number of people are experiencing. They come inRichard: Well, once again, you always rule out the
complaining of the same thing, so they've narrowed itobvious. So most of the people who come to me
down to being diagnosable. If you have, I think, it'shave already been through all the conventional
18 tender points of different parts of the body thenanalysis and there are two ways to use conventional
you get the diagnosis fibromyalgia, which meansmedicine at this point in trying to determine what's
what?causing those symptoms. One is to have the test
Kevin: I don't know.done, because you don't want to miss anything
Richard: Right and that's what I'm saying is that's howobvious, like a virus or IBS or irritable bowel
a lot of medicine is conducted, is they're telling yousyndrome, or celiac spruce. Some of the organic
what they're telling them, using a different word.dysfunctions that can produce similar functions, you
Kevin: Got you.don't want to miss those. Once you've had the test
Richard: So my elbow hurts and so if you've gotdone and their negative, the next that the process is
arthritis. You got tendinitis. You've got degenerativeto look at those tests and see if they come back
or rheumatoid arthritis. You have whatever, butnormal, are there elements within those results that
basically they're going to use a word that meansare high normal and low normal, because these are
what it is that you're telling them without reallyjust as powerful to a tool in terms of determining a
describing what's caused what you're experiencingpattern in the process of developing an imbalance in
and therefore, if you can't identify a cause, you can'tthe process of developing a deficiency in the process
affect a cure.of developing by looking at highs and lows in related
Kevin: So it's kind of like making up words.chemistries and then if that's there, then we use that
Richard: It's a lot like making up words. It's veryas an initial tool to start normalizing biochemistry. If
similar to what the pharmaceutical companies do withthat's not there, then next step in the process is let
the ad agencies in New York. One of my clients hasme look at the Matrix. Let me look at the relationship
a large advertising agency in New York and 20% ofbetween the child and the parents. Let me talk with
his business is from pharmaceutical companies and hisa child. Let me ask some very explicit questions to
job is to come up with a name for a drug that theythe child that seem like I'm having a dialogue, but
discovered that relieves certain groups of symptomsthey're really designed to elicit responses that would
and so they sit in a brainstorming session for a fewbe consistent with an imbalance in the emotional
days and they come up with something that isrealm, so that I can either implement some
catchy and can have an acronym associated with ittreatment myself or recommend a course of
that rolls off the tongue that people can remembertreatment with a child psychologist or someone that
and basically it's we've got a new pill now and wemight be more skilled in one or more of the areas
need a disease to go with it.that I'm not. So my role isn't necessarily to solve the
Kevin: Wow. So how do you go backwards from aproblem of the symptoms, but to solve the problem,
symptom to the actual imbalance?which may involve other people that I need to
Richard: That's a great point and I'm a simple guy ininterface with professionally.
the final analysis. So I had to come up with a simpleKevin: Have you found that nutritional deficiencies can
process that I could understand and communicate socause emotional behavior and emotional reactions?
that the people I'm working with could becomeRichard: About 80% of the emotional symptoms that
proactive in the process, instead of just looking toI see have a nutritional basis.
me for the answer and kind of help me find theKevin: Wow.
answer. So the answer to your question in aRichard: So it's huge.
sentence is always start where you are. So that'sKevin: When the nutritional deficiency is addressed,
the beauty of the Matrix Assessment Profile, which isthen that goes away?
a protocol that I've developed over a period of yearsRichard: Yes, because again, you're dealing with a
based on research produced by NASA to monitorsymptom that appears to be emotional and if you
the health of the Apollo astronauts and the Matrixtreat it with pharmaceuticals, you treat with therapy
Assessment Profile means that we're assessing theand it doesn't get any better and you're missing the
matrix. Now, I don't want to do the same things withobvious, which is nutritional imbalance or deficiency,
the words here that these doctors are doing withthen you've served no purpose.
these diagnoses. So there's a method to theKevin: Wow.
madness and there's a reason behind this name. SoRichard: So think about it this way, Kevin. One of the
an assessment of the matrix means that we'reissues we have in this country is that the soil is
looking at more than just the symptoms that you'redepleted of vital nutrients. The last senate document
describing to me. We're looking at the potentialI saw said that there were only three minerals left in
causes for that symptom or group of symptomsthe soil in this country and so if the nutrients aren't in
within the human matrix, which is composed ofsoil, they're not in the food and if they're not the
structural, biochemical and a cycle of emotional orfood, they're not in the diet. If they're not in the diet,
virtual realm that all interacts 24/7 to produce thethey're not in the body and the body was designed
experiences we have in life and so the Matrixto operate in function on all of these nutrients. So it's
Assessment Profile is an assessment of all of thosea supply and demand problem. If the demands are
realms. What do you do for a living? What kind ofthat the lungs keep pumping and oxygen is delivered
stress are you experiencing? What do you eat?to the cells and the bowels move and the heart
What percentage of your diet is raw? How often dopumps blood and all of the other systems work the
you eat out? How much water do you drink? Do youway they were designed and there are not enough
take supplements? How much sleep you get? Whatraw materials to go round, the body has to begin to
kind of spiritual beliefs do you have? These are allcompromise function and prioritize the use of the
things that will contextually interact to produceraw materials that are available, which then sets up a
symptoms as part of the human matrix.whole chain of events over a period of time based
Kevin: So the matrix is all the different things that areon a law of accumulation, which means it that if
around you. Let me ask you this question. Is thesomething is done repetitively of a period of time,
matrix outside of you, or inside of you, or is it is athere's going to be a reaction to that given the fact
combination of all of that?that there is an insufficient supply to meet the
Richard: It's very similar to the concept of zero pointdemand for that function.
energy. It's the creative and life-sustaining force thatKevin: It sounds so logical.
contributes to the expression of everything inRichard: It is.