brain health
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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
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Anger Disorders
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Anxiety
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Behavioral & School Problems
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Behavioral Addiction
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Bipolar
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Concussions
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Depression
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Drug & Alcohol Addiction
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Eating Disorders
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Emotional Trauma
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Hormonal Imbalances
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
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Panic Disorders & Attacks
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Personality Disorders
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PTSD
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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
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Self-Esteem
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Self-Harm
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Sleep Disorders
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Stress
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Suicidal Thoughts & Behaviors
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Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
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& More
Why is brain health important? The brain is the hub, and it is involved in every process of our bodily, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Often Doctors, Psychiatrist, Counselors/Therapist, and other health professionals look at the symptoms as a means to guide treatment without looking further into the root causes of these symptoms. When our brain functioning is impaired, it can manifest a slew of issues that can affect all arenas of our lives. These can be difficult to treat outside the greater context. What we can also find is that changes can be harder to make when the brain is not on board. We use brain health as a jumping point to lay a beautiful foundation for all other health changes to manifest.
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Dr. Amen is the pioneer of thorough Brain health assessment and multi-modal approach to determine treatment. As a traditionally trained and educated Psychiatrist, he found himself questioning this guessing and throwing-the-kitchen-sink-at-it method. He questioned why this standard of medical treatment was the only discipline that did not actually look at the organ it was treating and why there weren’t definitive tools of assessment outside of self-reporting. From this, emerged the SPECT Scan. The SPECT Scan imaging measures blood flow and activity in the brain to more accurately diagnosis overactive or underactive areas in the brain. As Dr. Amen states, psychiatric disorders are not simple nor do they usually occur in solitary, meaning that each person is complex with a unique thumbprint, thus a one-size-fits-all treatment might not only not work, but also might make symptoms worse.
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Through SPECT Scans and/or thorough Amen Clinic Certified Assessments we can identified and treat a vast majority of mental health issues, including the following:
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The Brain Health assessment is a 3-stage process
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1. 3 hour assessment - this can be done in one session or broken up into two 1.5hr sessions.
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2. 1.5 hour analysis - this analysis is done outside of session by the clinician & is used to create the brain health work up, plan, & recommendations.
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3. 1.5 education & explanation - this session is used to provide additional brain health education & go over the brain health write up.
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Please note:
It may be necessary at times for the clinician to gathering additional assessment information from someone close to the client (I.e., a parent, spouse, or sibling) that has witnessed & can attest to certain behaviors that will help guide more accurate algorithms in the assessment. This additional assessment information would be gathered outside of session by sending home paper assessments to be completed by said person(s). If said person would prefer to give additional assessment information in person or it is necessary to schedule a session to obtain this information an additional session fee would be applied. The fee for session would be my standard rate of $150/hr and billed in .5hr increments.
It is also important to note that if additional assessment information is needed, the clinician must receive all completed forms to be able to finalize the brain health assessment.
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A standard Brain Health Assessment completed at Amen Clinics consist of 3 days of assessment, SPECT Scans, and a plan similar to what I provide. The standard cost for this is approximately $3,500. The assessments I provide were created by Dr. Amen and are as close to the SPECT Scan findings we can get without having the actual scans done. This is a great cost-efficient way to get a jump start on correcting poor brain health & improving overall functioning. In some cases myself or a client may find it beneficial to have the SPECT scans done. In these cases, I am able to make referrals to The Amen Clinic directly as an affiliate for a discounted rate, although a referral is not necessary to seek out services with The Amen Clinic.
brain health assessment
brain
health
coaching
So you have your brain health write up...
Now what?
The brain health assessment package can be used as a standalone service. As we go over the plan & recommendations in the education and explanation session you will have a good idea of what your brain needs from you in order to not only get your health back, but to thrive & increase the quality of your life!
For most us though, we know that the knowing is a whole lot easier than the doing. That’s where brain health coaching comes in. Brain health coaching can be a nice add on for those that have barriers to executing their plan & provide great encouragement, motivation, & accountability. Sometimes it just helps to not walk the journey alone. Other times it’s necessary to not just focus on our physical & psychological health but also our social & spiritual health for more wholesome and holistic healing of our being. No matter the reason, engaging in follow-up brain health coaching can greatly impact your outcomes for the better.
Brain health coaching sessions can vary in length, frequency, & duration to meet your needs.
•Session lengths can vary from 60-90 min, in some cases client prefer longer session
•Frequency can range from weekly to bi-weekly
•Duration of treatment will depend on your desired goals/outcomes & how long it takes to reach those
We can collaborate to determine which plan works best for you following your brain health assessment.