Traumatic events witnessed by firefighters, first responders and law enforcement workers can lead to serious mental health struggles in everyday life.
A 2023 survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that first responders and law enforcement workers are more likely to die from suicide than they do.
Psychiatrist and author, Dr. Daniel Amen, uses spect scans of patients at mental health care clinics. The spectral scan includes a 3D scan of the patient’s brain, looking at blood flow and activity, followed by a custom treatment plan.
Matt Fiorenza spent 22 years at the Anaheim Fire Station at a retired firefighter-Paramistic. In his career, he witnessed the worst tragedy of people while constantly working on the frontlines of death and destruction.
“I remember my female boyfriend reporting stress after running to my 2-year-old,” Fiorenza said. “I remember looking down at this kid and looking at the diaper.”
Matt Fiorenza, a retired firefighter who spent 22 years at the Anaheim Fire Station – paramedic, talks about his mental health struggles and PTSD diagnosis. (Calif. professional firefighter) Doctor. Daniel Amen shows a spectral scan image of Matt Fiorenza’s brain that reveals an increase in levels of emotional activity. (KTLA) After two years of treatment, before and after Matt Fiorenza’s brain Spect images show a decrease in the level of emotional activity. (KTLA) Retired Firefighter-Paramic player Matt Fiorenza worked to improve mental health with Dr. Daniel Amen using spect scans and a customized treatment plan. (KTLA) A retired firefighter after 22 years at the Anaheim Fire Station – Paramedic Matt Fiorenza talks about his mental health struggles and PTSD diagnosis. (Calif. professional firefighter)
That painful memory is just one of many incidents in which Fiorenza said he sent him downwards spiral in his career. He continued to witness one traumatic event after the next, so he tried to deal with it, but began to struggle with alcohol and substance abuse.
“What we know now and I was diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) in 2015,” Fiorenza said. “And then, in the first responder community, they really didn’t know what to do with me.”
Fiorenza said he tried three different suicides after struggling to hit the rock bottom.
“I racked it [a gun] I put it in my mouth, my wife came over and heard it, and took the gun away,” recalls Fiorente.
He eventually returned to seek professional treatment, but said the process was never enough for him. After quarantining in his apartment for four months, he knew he needed more help. That’s when he met Dr. Daniel Amen and underwent a spectral scan with his brain.
Amen is a psychiatrist and the author of running mental health clinics in Southern California and the United States, and Amen uses spect scans to take 3D images of the brain to examine blood flow and activity.
“When we see his active brain, his emotional brain, it’s red and white [colors]it’s working so hard that it just makes you feel bad inside,” Amen explained about the spectral images of Fiorentine’s brain.
Amen said the image could be a powerful tool for diagnosing underlying brain problems. In the case of Fiorenze, Amen said the scan showed signs of PTSD and traumatic brain injury.
“If you look at the pictures of my brain, it then removed the stigma,” Fiorence said. “Okay, I’m not crazy.”
After the patient undergoes a spectral scan, a custom treatment plan is devised.
For Fiorenze, the plan included EMDR (eyemotion desensitization and reprocessing) therapy, supplements, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
After two years of custom treatment plans, Amen took a new Spect image of Fiorenze’s brain and confirmed the advancements.
“His cerebellum was healthier and his emotional brain was calming,” Amen explained of the new image.
“I think firefighters believe in seeing,” said Dr. Gina Gallivan, police and public security scientist.
Gallivan said he didn’t include a spectral scan as part of her treatment protocol, but he believes the results will motivate firefighters to seek help.
“The first responders I spoke to someone who had a brain scan were seeing the damage they could see visible to their brains, which was very shocking to them,” she said.
“What we see among backlogged firefighters is a high incidence of divorce, a high incidence of bankruptcy, a high incidence of depression, and a significantly higher incidence of suicidal behavior,” Amen said.
Amen has been using spectral scans for 34 years, and he acknowledges that there are critics of this practice.
“It’s extremely frustrating to be the only doctor that a psychiatrist does not see the organs he is treating,” he said.
Currently, insurance doesn’t cover spectral scans, but Amen Clinics is raising funds for education, research and services to “change the basics of the brain.”
The basics covered the full cost of Fiorenze scans and treatments. The recent donations also mean that they currently have enough funds to provide 100 spectral scans to firefighters and first responders affected by the recent fires in Southern California.
Fiorente said she hopes that sharing his story will help her to remove the stigma of receiving mental health care while also helping her struggling peers.
For information on Amen Clinic and Spectrum Scan, please see here.
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