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| '''Daniel G. Amen''', ] is a child and adult ], ] |
'''Daniel G. Amen''', ] is a child and adult ], ] advisor, author and medical director of the ].<ref name=about>{{Cite web| title = About Amen Clinics | url = http://amenclinics.com/ac/about | accessdate = 2007-08-17}}</ref> He alleges to have done work in evaluating psychiatric and neurological patients with the help of ] scanning, especially in the area of ], though no research validating his claims has been published in peer-reviewed journals. | ||
| ==Career and work== | ==Career and work== | ||
| Dr. Amen is licensed to practice |
Dr. Amen is licensed to practice medicine in California, Arizona, Washington, Virginia and New York{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the ], and the APA's 1987 recipient of the Marie H. Eldredge Award for the best research work.<ref></ref> He is the ] and medical director of The Amen Clinics, Inc. in ], ], ] and ]. Amen is also a member of the American Neuropsychiatric Association{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}. | ||
| Amen is an unpaid volunteer ]<ref>http://directory.uci.edu/?amen,%20daniel</ref> of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the ]. He received his undergraduate degree from the Christian ] (now Vanguard University of Southern California) and his doctor of medicine degree from the now-defunct ] School of Medicine. | Amen is an unpaid volunteer ]<ref>http://directory.uci.edu/?amen,%20daniel</ref> of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the ]. He received his undergraduate degree from the Christian ] (now Vanguard University of Southern California) and his doctor of medicine degree from the now-defunct ] School of Medicine. | ||
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| *AudioFile Earphones Award Winner for Making A Good Brain Great 2006 | *AudioFile Earphones Award Winner for Making A Good Brain Great 2006 | ||
| *NY Times Bestsellers, two at one time, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and Magnificent Mind At Any Age | *NY Times Bestsellers, two at one time, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and Magnificent Mind At Any Age | ||
| ==Produced Television Shows, DVDs and Movie Appearances== | |||
| • National Public Television Special, ''Change Your Brain, Change Your Body'', February 2010 | |||
| • National Public Television Special, ''The Brain In Love'', 2009 | |||
| • National Public Television Special, ''Magnificent Mind At Any Age'', 2008 | |||
| • National Public Television Special, CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR LIFE 2008 | |||
| • ''Which Brain Do You Want'', DVD, MindWorks Press, 2004 | |||
| • ''Preventing Alzheimer's'', DVD, MindWorks Press, 2004 | |||
| • ''Healing Anxiety and Depression'', DVD MindWorks Press 2004 | |||
| • ''Healing ADD'', DVD, MindWorks Press, 2003 | |||
| • ''Healing Hardware of the Soul'', DVD, MindWorks Press, 2002 | |||
| • Appearance in the movie ''After The Last Round'' on retired boxers | |||
| ==Current projects== | ==Current projects== | ||
Revision as of 20:44, 25 September 2010
Daniel G. Amen, M.D. is a child and adult psychiatrist, self-help advisor, author and medical director of the Amen Clinic. He alleges to have done work in evaluating psychiatric and neurological patients with the help of SPECT scanning, especially in the area of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, though no research validating his claims has been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Career and work
Dr. Amen is licensed to practice medicine in California, Arizona, Washington, Virginia and New York. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and the APA's 1987 recipient of the Marie H. Eldredge Award for the best research work. He is the CEO and medical director of The Amen Clinics, Inc. in Newport Beach, California, Fairfield, California, Bellevue, Washington and Reston, Virginia. Amen is also a member of the American Neuropsychiatric Association.
Amen is an unpaid volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. He received his undergraduate degree from the Christian Southern California College (now Vanguard University of Southern California) and his doctor of medicine degree from the now-defunct Oral Roberts University School of Medicine.
Amen is the author of 39 professional scientific articles and 27 books, including the NY Times Bestsellers Change Your Brain, Change Your Life; Magnificent Mind At Any Age; and Change Your Brain, Change Your Body. He is the writer, producer, and host of four highly successful public television programs, raising more than $30 million for public television. He is also the producer of a number of audio and video programs. Amen, together with The United Paramount Network and Leeza Gibbons, produced a show called The Truth About Drinking, on alcohol education for teenagers, which won an Emmy Award for the Best Educational Television Show. In 1998, Random House published Amen’s book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, which has been on the New York Times bestseller list, and is translated into 24 languages.
The audiobook for Making A Good Brain Great received Audiofile Magazine’s Earphone Award. Amen has made numerous media appearances including PBS TV and Radio Nationwide, the Dr. Oz Show, Larry King Live, The View, The Today Show, The Rachael Ray Show, The Early Show, Extra TV, CNN, HBO, Discovery Channel, MSNBC, and Fox News. He has been featured in Newsweek, Parade Magazine, The NY Times Magazine, Men's Health, and Cosmopolitan.
Criticism
Scientists and medical professionals have criticized the scientific validity of Amen's work, noting that there are no clinical studies supporting his claims. Although he has not conducted (nor cites) any research validating his brain-based weight-loss scheme, Amen has responded by increasing the number of references in his latest book Change Your Brain, Change Your Body., though none of these references validates the claims he makes. In addition, the review of this book in the American Journal of Psychiatry underscores the fact that "he has not subjected his treatment approaches to the level of systematic scientific scrutiny expected for scientifically based medical practice".
Neurologist Michael Greicius, who runs the Stanford University memory clinic, said "SPECT scans are not sufficiently sensitive or specific to be useful in the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease...The PBS airing of Amen's program provides a stamp of scientific validity to work which has no scientific validity."
In 2005, on Quackwatch.org, a nonprofit organization that investigates what they consider health-related frauds, myths, fads and fallacies, Dr. Harriet Hall, a retired military physician, was far more strident in her criticism:
"Amen's recommendations defy science, common sense and logic. I feel much worse about him now than I did when I wrote the piece because I went back and looked at his Web site again, and I'm just appalled by some of the things that are on it now. He's selling vitamin supplements and he's selling his own line of products. He's turned into big business."
Amen has responded by saying that,
"The Amen Clinics tracks treatment response among its patients. 85% of our patients report a high degree of satisfaction with our services. We are not a typical psychiatric clinic. We typically see patients who have failed 3 or 4 other mental health professionals, and who have an average of 3.5 psychiatric disorders using standard DSM diagnostic measures. No one keeps response rates on such a complex diagnostic group, yet our results are very encouraging."
In turn, Quackwatch.com says that "satisfaction rates" have nothing to do with success rates, and that Amen has never made data about either available for scrutiny. According to its website, Amen Clinics charges $3,375 for a "comprehensive evaluation," which includes the patient's history, two SPECT scans, a physician consultation, and a 30-minute treatment follow-up appointment. Follow-up scans after treatment are $795 each.
Amen's classification
The Amen's classification was created by Amen for classifying psychiatric patients into particular groups of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Amen classification system defines six different subtypes of ADHD.
These subtypes were created using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging on patients whom Amen claims were known to have ADHD, but for which no data have ever been published. Amen argues that differences seen in the imaging for sufferers of ADHD correspond to the new classification system he has created. A patient can have a range from none to all subtypes of ADHD under the Amen system.
The Amen's classification consists of the following ADHD subtypes:
- Type I - Classic ADD (ADHD)
- Type II - Inattentive ADD
- Type III - Over-Focused ADD
- Type IV - Temporal Lobe ADD
- Type V - Limbic ADD
- Type VI - "Ring of fire" ADD
Awards and Honors
Amen has received the following Awards
- Marie H. Eldridge Award by the American Psychiatric Association 1987 for research.
- Elected Orange Coast College Hall of Fame, April 2001
- Emmy Award Winning Appearance on The Truth About Drinking, United Paramount Network
- Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association, 2005
- AudioFile Earphones Award Winner for Making A Good Brain Great 2006
- NY Times Bestsellers, two at one time, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and Magnificent Mind At Any Age
Current projects
Dr. Amen's new book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body is a long standing New York Times Bestseller as well as a top seller on Amazon.com, also released a jointly produced public television program under the same title. In February 2011 his new book, The Amen Solution will be released by Crown Archetype at Random House.
References
- "About Amen Clinics". Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- American Psychiatric Association - Awards
- http://directory.uci.edu/?amen,%20daniel
- ^ Hall, Harriet (2005, rev. 2007). "A Skeptical View of SPECT Scans and Dr. Daniel Amen". Quackwatch. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.08121843
- Burton, Robert (2008-05-12). "Brain Scam: Why is PBS airing Dr. Daniel Amen's self-produced infomercial for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease?". Salon.com. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- Amen, Daniel; Wu, Joseph C.; Bracha, H. Stefan. "Functional neuroimaging in clinical practice". The Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry edited by Kaplan and Sadock 2000
- Incorvaia, JA; Mark-Goldstein BS; Tessmer D., eds. Brain SPECT Imaging and ADD in Understanding, Diagnosing, and Treating AD/HD in Children and Adolescents: An Integrative Approach. Jason Aronson, Inc, Northvale, New Jersey, 1999, pp.183-196.
- Reynolds, Cecil; and Elaine Fletcher-Janzen, eds. "Brain SPECT Imaging". Encyclopedia of Special Education, 2006.
External links
Categories:- American health and wellness writers
- American medical writers
- American psychiatrists
- American self-help writers
- Attention disorders
- American people of Arab descent
- American people of Lebanese descent
- University of California, Irvine faculty
- Oral Roberts University alumni
- Living people
- Vanguard University of Southern California alumni