family health

Healing ADD is a landmark book that every counselor, psycholgist, psychiatrist,and pastor will want to have. More importantly if you struggle with ADD or know someone who does this book is a must read. I and the therapists who are associated with me have referred over 600 people in the last four years for SPECT Brain Imaging Scans. As a psychotherapist I have found Dr. Amen's work to be truly a landmark in the field of psychiatry, psychology and medicine in general. "Healing ADD" helps the reader to identify which of the six types of ADD that they have, and then the practical steps to take for treatment. An alarming number of people are medically mismanaged when it comes to ADD treatment, and the work that Dr. Amen has done through over 10,000 SPECT Brain Imaging Scans has resulted in a system of diagnosis and medication management that brings more precision to the care of the ADD patient.So many of the horror stories and bad press that Ritalin is given are due to inaccurate diagnosis. Ritalin or another stimulant will be prescribed when another system of the brain needs to be treated first before a stimulant is given. The checklists that are provided in Dr.Amen's book will give the reader a guide as to whether the counselor or physcian they are working with is headed in the right direction with the treatment program they design. What is also exciting about this work is how it educates and empowers the lay person to truly be in charge of their care, and be able to ask their therapist, or physcian the needed questions to make sure they are getting the most up to date care and treatment possible. This is a book that the lay person and professional will benefit from. If you are being treated for ADD you might want to purchase a copy for your doctor.

Earl R. Henslin Psy.D., B.C.E.T.S. Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress Diplomate in the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress

This book was a big disappointment. Using brain scanning imagery AMEN has deduced that there are six types of ADD. I find his taxonomy very questionable, and while I don't object to anecdotal evidence to support medical views, Amen turns very slight differences in behavior into major types of diagnoses. The descriptions of the various types interweave to the point that the differences among them are very slight. Why six? Why not 60? Amen's selective perception seems to be pseudo-science reductionist claptrap to me. I have ADD, and as I studied the traits of each one of Amen's categories, it seemed that I was a likely candidate for five of the six. His suggestions regarding diet are laughable: he recommends a healthy well balanced diet as a component to "healing" ADD. Well, now isn't that the most innovative idea about improving one's health: a good diet?!?!?! Thanks to psychostimulants I have been able to completely change my life in ways that at one time would have seemed miraculous. At times, I still feel it is miraculous. But I would never say I am "healed." The term in the title seems to be more marketing ploy than accurate empirical statement. I do recommend the book SCATTERED by Gabor Mate, a physician with ADD. That book is far more informed, holistic, thoughtful, incisive. It is also very well written. The style and methodology of Amen's book makes the DSM-IV seem as though it were written by God him/herself.

This book is the most comprehensive source of information on ADD available.

The basis of the treatment techniques, SPECT scans, is also revolutionary in its approach and nearly self-evident. This approach of examining both patients' histories and SPECT scans at the same time is obviously an effective means of targeting not only the specific type of ADD (Dr. Amen has categorized 6 types) but also recognizing other disorders that may cause confusion about the ultimate diagnosis.

His work is the tip of the iceberg in diagnosing and finding successful treatments for ADD, anxiety, depression, violent behaivors, Alzeheimer's, obsessive disorders, manic disorders, head-injury related disorders, substance abuse disorders, dementia, and many other brain-related disorders.

It is loaded with information. Many professionals would do well to not only ready but study the information.

This book can be considered a companion to "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life."