A special message to doctors

How We Can Help

"For the past ten years I have had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Amen how to recognize when a scan is needed, and the medications and supplements that impact the various systems of the brain. Dr. Amen is gifted in helping professionals learn how to communicate the complexities of brain function in a way that empowers and motivates patients to follow through on protocols that will help balance brain chemistry. The day is coming when mental health professionals that do not understand the basics of brain function will not be meeting the standard of care that patients are expecting. Physicians, no matter what their area of specialty is, will find their level of patient care will only be improved. Psychotherapists will learn to recognize which symptoms are medical in their origin and need the attention of a physician that is knowledgeable of neuroscience, and what can be helped with psychotherapy."

Earl Henslin, PsyD

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Evaluation Process

How are Patients Referred to the Amen Clinics?

Patients are referred to us by a variety of methods including by their private physicians, mental health professionals, web sites they have visited and by their own attendance at lectures and seminars given by Dr. Daniel Amen. Other times they have seen written literature by Dr. Amen or one of our staff members. And, although hundreds of physicians from around the world refer patients to us, we are proud to say that our largest referral source by far remains word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied former patients and family members.

What if I Don't Have a Doctor to Refer Me?

Patients or parents of children who are self-referred to the Amen Clinics must first speak to the Amen Clinic Intake Coordinator. The Intake Coordinator is trained and supervised by Dr. Amen. The Intake Coordinator assists with the completion of the intake form which is reviewed by the physicians assistant. Sometimes a phone consultation with a clinic physician is recommended before an evaluation is scheduled or scans are ordered and other times, referral to professionals outside the Amen Clinics is deemed more appropriate for a particular situation.

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Articles of Interest

18 Ways Spect Can Help You

 

• How do you know unless you look? Psychiatrists are the only medical specialists who rarely look at the organ they treat. Psychiatrists continue to make diagnoses the same way they did 100 years ago, based on clinical exams and symptom clusters. There is a better way. SPECT imaging is a clinically useful way to look at brain function.
• Real answers. SPECT helps provide answers to mental health problems and helps clinicians ask better and more targeted questions, such as about ADHD, head injuries, toxic exposure and past emotional traumas.
• Tailor treatment to your brain. Imaging plus detailed histories help us better understand your brain, so treatment can be individually tailored, rather than just diagnosing and treating vague diagnostic categories such as depression or ADHD.
• Help prevent mistakes. More information prevents clinicians from prescribing the wrong treatments, such as unnecessarily stimulating an already overactive brain or calming one that is underactive.
• Early detection to prevent Alzheimer’s. SPECT scans can tell up to 9 years before you have symptoms whether or not you are vulnerable. Treatment and prevention strategies work early, not late.
• Whole person approach. ACI takes a whole person approach and uses scans to help guide not only medication interventions, but also natural supplements and other innovative treatments.
• See if your treatment is working. Follow up scans can help see which treatments are effective and which are not. It is critical to know if your treatment is helping or hurting your brain.
• Help understand and treat addictions. A SPECT scan can help understand the reasons that underlie addictions and help guide treatment.
• Identify brain trauma. A SPECT scan can identify specific areas of the brain hurt by trauma to better target treatment and help deal with insurance, legal and rehabilitation issues.
• Know your type. ADD, anxiety and depression are not single or simple disorders. One treatment does not fit everyone. Dr. Amen has described 6 types of ADD, 7 types of anxiety and depression and 3 types of violence. Imaging helps you see the underlying brain problems so treatment can be more targeted.
• Help for families. A SPECT scan can help families understand the underlying medical reasons for a problem, which helps decrease shame, self blame and conflict.
• Check the health of your brain. Even if you are not having trouble, SPECT scans can help check the health of your individual brain. Scans can be used as a screening tool to know your vulnerabilities. They can also serve as a baseline if you develop problems in the future.
• Most experience. ACI has the world’s largest database of brain scans related to behavior (nearly 64,000) and the most experience. We have been ordering and performing brain SPECT scans for over 16 years. ACI has seen patients from all 50 states and 71 countries.
• Pioneer. Through research and education ACI has helped to pioneer brain SPECT imaging in clinical psychiatric practice.
• Improve compliance. Pictures are powerful and can help influence a patient’s willingness to accept and adhere to a treatment program.
• Decrease shame and stigma. SPECT scans help patients better understand their problems, decreasing shame, guilt, stigma and self-loathing.
• Legal issues. Scans may be helpful in a number of legal situations, such as helping judges and juries understand difficult behavior and directing treatment.
• The future now. SPECT scans can help you obtain individualized care for your brain. Thomas Insel, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said "Brain imaging in clinical practice is the next major advance in psychiatry."