Brain SPECT Imaging
Florida Addiction Treatment Center Using Brain Targeted Diagnosis
House of Freedom Drug Rehab Center Florida is one of the few substance abuse treatment centers in the world to offer brain SPECT imaging to its patients. You might wonder, what is brain SPECT? SPECT stands for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography. It is a nuclear medicine study that looks at brain blood flow and activity patterns. It basically shows us three things: areas of the brain that work well, areas that are underactive and overactive. This information helps us target drug treatment to individual patient brains rather than broad diagnostic categories.
In addition, having a SPECT scan for drug rehabilitation center patients decreases shame and stigma associated with substance abuse and psychiatric illnesses. Once the patient sees their brain function, they have a much better understanding of what they are dealing with and are more positively engaged in the addiction treatment process. A SPECT scan can also uncover hidden brain trauma or toxicity that often goes undetected with conventional evaluation processes.
Because how do you know, unless you look? Have you ever broken a bone, gone to the hospital, and not gotten any X-Rays? Has a mechanic ever fixed your car without looking at it? Currently psychiatrists are the only medical specialist who rarely looks at the organ they treat. They continue making diagnoses the same way they did 100 years ago, based on self-reports, clinical exams, and symptom clusters. There exists a more effective practice which is why House of Freedom Drug Rehab Center Florida utilizes Brain SPECT imaging, allowing us to look at the organ we are treating. Plus, this provides us the added benefit of doing before and after brain images, confirming the effectiveness of our drug treatment center in Florida.
Why our Drug Rehab Center Uses Brain SPECT?
In a recent study published in The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, doctors were asked to diagnose and design an addiction treatment plan for each patient based on the patient’s complete personal history and symptoms, which is the typical amount of information that most psychiatrists use when they diagnose and treat addiction patients. After the doctors provided their diagnoses and drug treatment plans, they were provided the patient’s brain SPECT study images. In 78.9% of cases the brain scan caused the doctors to change their diagnosis and addiction treatment plan!
Brain images make a difference. That is why House of Freedom Drug Rehab Center Florida believes it is better to look at your brain before prescribing medication or therapies that may make you better, but in some cases can make your condition worse.
At House of Freedom Drug Rehab Center Florida we understand that no two people are alike, and that drug treatment is not one-size-fits-all, especially in substance abuse recovery and mental health. With a complete picture of your biological, psychological, social, and spiritual health, House of Freedom can provide personalized, targeted addiction treatment formulated for your specific case.
SPECT Imaging can be helpful in the following conditions:
- Brain impairment caused by drug or alcohol abuse or toxic exposure
- ADD / ADHD
- Depression
- Anxiety Disorder
- Behavior Disorders
- Mood Disorders
- Cognitive decline
- Bipolar
- Traumatic/Anoxic Brain Injury
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Dementia – Alzheimer’s Disease
- Neuro-Immune Dysfunction
- PTSD
- Head Trauma – Sports Injuries, Car Accidents
- Stroke
- General brain health