Forensic Psychiatry
Amen Clinics provides unrivaled objective clinical data to support
the best possible outcome for your legal case.
Amen Clinics Legal
Amen Clinics brings a unique lens and expertise to the arena of law and litigation. We provide both medical and legal resources to assist attorneys, clients, and court officials.
Through our scientific approach, we expertly communicate our data-supported opinions and facts to address even the most challenging medical and/or legal questions.
We conduct methodical, comprehensive, and science-based assessments for a wide variety of legal matters. Our thorough clinical and forensic analyses together with our expert medico-legal advice guarantees that you are fully prepared to attain your desired results in court.
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Why Choose Amen Clinics?
Selecting the right doctor to help your client is paramount for getting accurate evidence needed for your case. The highly trained physicians at Amen Clinics are unparalleled in their broad range of expertise. For those who are in need of a psychiatric evaluation and treatment, we provide detailed clinical assessments, including brain SPECT imaging to create comprehensive reports based on sophisticated analytics drawn from a functional imaging database of more than 200,000 brain scans related to behavior. Our doctors are reputable forensic experts with extensive experience in brain health and the consequences of brain dysfunction. Their medico-legal proficiency provides the additive value of clear and succinct communication with attorneys and judges. In addition, the forensic expert communicates complex scientific information to the lay public/jury that is clear, compelling, and easy to comprehend. The forensic psychiatrists at Amen Clinics are well equipped to support you and your client in achieving the results you want in court.
Hiring the Most Competent Forensic Psychiatrist for Your Client or Case
Our forensic specialists at Amen Clinics are uniquely qualified for legal cases. They are experts in brain health and abnormal brain function whether induced by physical injury, pathophysiological processes, or emotional trauma. They have direct clinical experience in how harm to the brain can impact a person’s judgement, behavior, or ability to perform usual duties.
Our experience with more than 200,000 brain SPECT scans obtained over 30 years guides us in making informed and data-driven findings. Our forensic specialists are armed with the experience and knowledge you need to get the results you want.
Forensic Psychiatry + Imaging = Answers
Our Forensics Process
Amen Clinics is a trusted partner to legal and medical providers across the globe. We offer the following wide range of medico-legal services, case experience, and legal specialty areas.
Services We Provide
- Brain SPECT Imaging
- Forensic Psychiatric Evaluations
- Medical Expertise
- Forensic Reports
- Deposition and Testimony Assistance
- Cognitive and Psychiatric Assessments
- Sentence Mitigation
Types of Legal Cases We Support
- Forensic
- Civil Law
- Criminal Law
- Personal Injury
- Mass Tort
- Family Law
Legal Specialties
- Toxic Brain Injury, Including Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Mild to Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury
- Hypoxic/Anoxic Brain Injury
- Geriatric
- Pediatric
Ready to learn more? Speak to a care coordinator today!
Contact UsFunctional vs. Structural Neuroimaging: The Superior Value of SPECT
Brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging is a state-of-the-art nuclear medicine study that is proven to reliably evaluate regional cerebral blood. For each procedure, the advanced SPECT imaging software utilized at Amen Clinics analyzes 55 areas of the brain to identify any functional abnormalities that present as increased or decreased blood flow. Many of these are known to be underpinnings of symptoms and behavioral problems.
Under the rules of the federal Daubert Standard, many states consider brain SPECT imaging as admissible evidence in court.
Positron emission tomography (PET) is similar to SPECT but is a more costly procedure. Functional MRI (fMRI), which is used more in research than in clinical settings, also assesses brain activity. Each fMRI scan is task-specific to a certain function, thus requires multiple procedures to evaluate the entire brain. Subsequently, it can be very time consuming and costly.
Structural neuroimaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are utilized to assess for pathology in the brain’s physical anatomy, such as tumors, blood clots, bleeding, and fluid build-up. However, neither MRI nor CT show how a brain is actually functioning, whereas neuroimaging with SPECT provides this clinically valuable information in great detail.
SPECT is more helpful for neuropsychiatric issues over other brain imaging studies because it looks at how the brain functions.
Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine Endorses Brain SPECT Imaging for Psychiatry and Neurology
In a landmark decision in May 2021, the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine (CANM) unanimously adopted new procedure guidelines for brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging for psychiatry and neurology.
The prestigious scientific body endorsed brain SPECT imaging for the assessment of many common issues affecting tens of millions of people, including:
- Neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder
- Suspected dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontal temporal lobe dementia, vascular dementia, and mild cognitive impairment
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Substance Abuse
- Strokes
Brain SPECT scans are able to accurately reveal the extent of injury in mild to moderate TBI cases and help to break the stigma related to symptoms that are often misdiagnosed.