Psychiatric Evaluations

At Amen Clinics, we believe in treating the whole person, not just their symptoms. To help us identify factors that may influence your mental health/brain health, we look at the following 4 Circles as they relate to you.

• Biological Circle: This tells us how the physical aspects of your body and brain function, including your genetics, lifestyle habits, illnesses, chronic conditions, exposure to toxins, history of head injury/concussions, your diet, activity and exercise levels, and more.
• Psychological Circle: This refers to your thinking patterns, the influence of developmental issues such as trauma, your upbringing, the running dialogue you have in your head, and your self-concept and body image.
• Social Circle: We will delve into your social support network, connection to others, and the nature of your relationships with family, friends, coworkers, or schoolmates. We will also want to identify any current stressors, such as work issues, family life, and financial concerns.
• Spiritual Circle: We will explore your sense of meaning and purpose in life as well as your connections to past and future generations, God or your spirituality, and the planet.

Without actually looking at your brain, it is very difficult to know the underlying cause of what is going on. We don’t want to simply guess based on your symptoms. This is why we use a sophisticated technology called brain SPECT imaging. It tells us 3 very important things:

• Areas of your brain that work well
• Areas of your brain that are underactive
• Areas of your brain that overactive

Brain SPECT scans provide extremely valuable insight. They connect the dots between your brain function, behaviors, and symptoms, which helps your doctor at Amen Clinics create an individualized and effective treatment plan that is targeted to your specific needs.

Our 30+ years of brain imaging work has also helped us identify patterns in the brain that are associated with different mental health conditions. It has shown us that mental illnesses are NOT simple or single disorders. Therefore, when it comes to treatment, one size does NOT fit all. What works for one person won’t work for everyone with similar symptoms, and it could even make someone feel worse.

In addition, brain SPECT scans can reveal any damage from head trauma, even if the injury did not cause a loss of consciousness or you were not diagnosed with a concussion. Head injuries increase the risk for anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, PTSD, addictions, and memory problems. But if no one ever looks at your brain, they won’t know if conditions like those could be related to past head trauma. Healing the damage in your brain is a critical step in getting relief from mental health symptoms, because psychiatric medications alone won’t work.

With the world’s largest database of functional brain scans related to behavior—more than 200,000 and growing—from patients in all 50 states and 155 countries, our physicians are able to more accurately evaluate and diagnose patients. SPECT can reveal the patterns related to specific mental health/brain health conditions, evidence of head trauma, toxic exposure, or infection that has affected the brain. All this vital information helps the physicians at Amen Clinic be better able to create a personalized, targeted treatment plan that addresses your unique needs.

Another important part of the psychiatric evaluation at Amen Clinics involves two neuropsychological tests we administer to patients. These give us additional insights into how your brain is currently functioning compared to other people your age.

• The Conners Continuous Performance Test-II assesses focus, response speed, and impulse control.
• WebNeuro measures brain function in domains of cognition, emotion, and self-regulation. It also assesses for depression, anxiety, stress, resilience, and other areas.

Your overall biological wellness plays a powerful role in your mental health/brain health. For example, if your hormones are out of balance, your mood, energy, and thinking patterns will be out of balance too.

When appropriate, our doctors will order specific lab tests that measure your important health numbers, because they are strong indicators of your overall health. Depending on your individual needs and brain health goals, genetic testing or more extensive lab work might be recommended as well.