Founded | 1989 |
---|---|
Founder | Daniel G. Amen |
Headquarters | |
Area served | Newport Beach, California, San Francisco, California, Atlanta, Georgia, Reston, Virginia, Bellevue, Washington, New York City |
Website |
www |
Amen Clinics is a group of mental and physical health clinics that work on the treatment of mood and behavior disorders. It was founded in 1989 by Daniel G. Amen, a self-help guru and psychiatrist. [1] [2] The clinics perform clinical evaluations and brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging to diagnose and treat their patients. [3] [4] Amen Clinics uses SPECT scans, a type of brain-imaging technology, to measure neural activity through blood flow. [5] [6] It has a database of more than 100,000 functional brain scans from patients in 111 countries. [7]
Amen Clinics has locations in Newport Beach, California; San Francisco, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Reston, Virginia; Tukwila, Washington; Chicago; Los Angeles; and New York City. [4] [8]
The American Psychiatric Association has criticized the clinical appropriateness of Amen's use of brain scans, stating: "[T]he clinical utility of neuroimaging techniques for planning of individualized treatment has not yet been shown." [9]
Amen Clinics was founded in 1989. It has been using brain SPECT in an attempt to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness since 1991. [10] Amen Clinics incorporates questionnaires, clinical histories, and clinical interviews in its practice. [5] [11] Some Amen Clinics locations also use quantitative electroencephalography as a diagnostic tool. [12] Amen Clinics has scanned 50,000 people at an estimated cost of $170 million according to Daniel Amen. [13]
As of 2014, Amen Clinics had a database of more than 100,000 functional brain scans. [7] The subjects are from 111 countries with ages from 9 months to 101 years old. [7] The database was funded in part by Seeds Foundation in Hong Kong, and developed by Daniel Amen with a team of researchers including Kristen Willeumier. [7]
Amen Clinics has worked to treat athletics-related brain damage for professional athletes, including current and 117 former National Football League players. [14] [15]
Amen Clinics uses SPECT scans to measure blood flow and activity patterns in the brain. [4] [5] [16] The company also uses diagnostics such as questionnaires, clinical histories, and clinical interviews. [5] Amen Clinics claims that SPECT scans enable doctors to tailor treatment to individual patients' brains. A retrospective study released by Amen in 2010 showed that "regional cerebral blood flow, as measured by SPECT, predicted stimulant response in 29 of 157 patients." [17]
Harriet Hall has written critically about SPECT scans in articles for Quackwatch and for the Science-Based Medicine website. [18] [19] Hall accuses the clinics of misrepresenting an unproven treatment as effective, of concealing important warning information, and of creating false hopes by promising things that can't be done. [18] She dismisses the scans as "pretty pictures" and says that although Amen himself seems to believe in his approach, "humans are very good at fooling themselves". [18]
A 2011 paper co-authored by the neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee discussed example cases that were found on the Amen Clinic's website. The paper noted that the example cases "violate the standard of care" because a normal clinical diagnosis would have been sufficient and functional neuroimaging was unnecessary. [13] According to the American Psychiatric Association, "the clinical utility of neuroimaging techniques for planning of individualized treatment has not yet been shown." [9]
Founded | 1989 |
---|---|
Founder | Daniel G. Amen |
Headquarters | |
Area served | Newport Beach, California, San Francisco, California, Atlanta, Georgia, Reston, Virginia, Bellevue, Washington, New York City |
Website |
www |
Amen Clinics is a group of mental and physical health clinics that work on the treatment of mood and behavior disorders. It was founded in 1989 by Daniel G. Amen, a self-help guru and psychiatrist. [1] [2] The clinics perform clinical evaluations and brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging to diagnose and treat their patients. [3] [4] Amen Clinics uses SPECT scans, a type of brain-imaging technology, to measure neural activity through blood flow. [5] [6] It has a database of more than 100,000 functional brain scans from patients in 111 countries. [7]
Amen Clinics has locations in Newport Beach, California; San Francisco, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Reston, Virginia; Tukwila, Washington; Chicago; Los Angeles; and New York City. [4] [8]
The American Psychiatric Association has criticized the clinical appropriateness of Amen's use of brain scans, stating: "[T]he clinical utility of neuroimaging techniques for planning of individualized treatment has not yet been shown." [9]
Amen Clinics was founded in 1989. It has been using brain SPECT in an attempt to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness since 1991. [10] Amen Clinics incorporates questionnaires, clinical histories, and clinical interviews in its practice. [5] [11] Some Amen Clinics locations also use quantitative electroencephalography as a diagnostic tool. [12] Amen Clinics has scanned 50,000 people at an estimated cost of $170 million according to Daniel Amen. [13]
As of 2014, Amen Clinics had a database of more than 100,000 functional brain scans. [7] The subjects are from 111 countries with ages from 9 months to 101 years old. [7] The database was funded in part by Seeds Foundation in Hong Kong, and developed by Daniel Amen with a team of researchers including Kristen Willeumier. [7]
Amen Clinics has worked to treat athletics-related brain damage for professional athletes, including current and 117 former National Football League players. [14] [15]
Amen Clinics uses SPECT scans to measure blood flow and activity patterns in the brain. [4] [5] [16] The company also uses diagnostics such as questionnaires, clinical histories, and clinical interviews. [5] Amen Clinics claims that SPECT scans enable doctors to tailor treatment to individual patients' brains. A retrospective study released by Amen in 2010 showed that "regional cerebral blood flow, as measured by SPECT, predicted stimulant response in 29 of 157 patients." [17]
Harriet Hall has written critically about SPECT scans in articles for Quackwatch and for the Science-Based Medicine website. [18] [19] Hall accuses the clinics of misrepresenting an unproven treatment as effective, of concealing important warning information, and of creating false hopes by promising things that can't be done. [18] She dismisses the scans as "pretty pictures" and says that although Amen himself seems to believe in his approach, "humans are very good at fooling themselves". [18]
A 2011 paper co-authored by the neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee discussed example cases that were found on the Amen Clinic's website. The paper noted that the example cases "violate the standard of care" because a normal clinical diagnosis would have been sufficient and functional neuroimaging was unnecessary. [13] According to the American Psychiatric Association, "the clinical utility of neuroimaging techniques for planning of individualized treatment has not yet been shown." [9]