She’s been open in recent years about her past struggles with addictions and eating disorders.
And Tallulah Willis tried to get to the bottom of her mental health issues recently by getting a brain scan that purports to reveal the ‘effect of past trauma on her brain.’
The 26-year-old fashion designer was featured Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by the controversial Amen Clinics, which use brain imaging to diagnose psychiatric issues.
New treatment? Tallulah Willis, 26, was featured in an advertisement for the controversial Amen Clinics, which claim they can diagnose and treat psychiatric disorders via brain scans
The video was filmed during Tallulah’s recent visit to one of the Amen Clinics locations in Encino, California.
She was dressed casually for her visit in a relaxed black sweater and a coral-colored pair of pants, while wearing her short brunette tresses with a short ponytail sticking straight up.
‘I’ve had a series of personal struggles,’ Tallulah began while relaxing on a sofa. ‘A big ol’ backpack of trauma that I carry around, and I’m trying to make it less heavy.’
‘I think there’s a validation in having someone say, “I can see exactly where the trauma lies in your brain. I can see this is where you get more anxious,” and on top of it, have suggestions on how to help you in a different methodology than perhaps a therapist, or a psychiatrist or a general practitioner doctor.
Check up: The video was filmed during Tallulah’s recent visit to one of the Amen Clinics locations in Encino, California. She as dressed in a black sweater and coral pants
Getting help: ‘I’ve had a series of personal struggles,’ Tallulah began. ‘A big ol’ backpack of trauma that I carry around, and I’m trying to make it less heavy.’
‘I just was really excited to get that different perspective,’ she added.
The clinics use SPECT, or single-photon emission computed tomography, a form of nuclear imaging that uses gamma rays to shows blood flow levels throughout the brain.
The clip also featured Tallulah meeting with Dr. Jay Faber, a psychiatrist at the clinic, who admitted she had ‘been through a lot.’
Looking at scans of her brain laid out on his desk, he began to speak in vague terms about what possible ‘activity’ in various regions of her brain might mean, and how that could affect both her behavior and thoughts.
Imaging: The clinics use SPECT, or single-photon emission computed tomography, a form of nuclear imaging that uses gamma rays to shows blood flow levels throughout the brain
Consultation: The clip also featured Tallulah meeting with Dr. Jay Faber, a psychiatrist at the clinic, who admitted she had ‘been through a lot’
Readouts: Looking at scans of her brain laid out on his desk, he began to speak in vague terms about what possible ‘activity’ in various regions of her brain might mean, and how that could affect both her behavior and thoughts
‘I think managing anxiety is the hardest, because my anxiety is very physical,’ Tallulah explained.
‘So I’ll get anxious and my heart beats really fast, and I’ll get sweaty, and I’ll feel really upset and sick.’
During his consultation, Faber referred to Tallulah’s empathy levels, though it wasn’t clear if he was making those determinations based on her scans, or on other questionnaires she filled out.
The daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore concluded the video by saying that getting diagnosed helped her to feel more ‘confidence,’ rather than feeling hemmed in.
Personality: During his consultation, Faber referred to Tallulah’s empathy levels, though it wasn’t clear if he was making those determinations based on her scans
The daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore concluded the video by saying that getting diagnosed helped her to feel more ‘confidence,’ rather than feeling hemmed in
Although Tallulah seemed please to receive the information about the scan, psychiatric and medical professionals have previously shared skepticism about the claims made at Amen Clinics.
According to The Washington Post, major mental health groups — including the American Psychiatric Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and the National Alliance on Mental Illness — have all failed to validate his claims about being able to use brain scans to diagnose psychiatric disorders.
Jeffrey Lieberman, former president of the APA, called the methods at Amen Clinics ‘the modern equivalent of phrenology,’ a discredited form of pseudoscience.
Not buying it: Psychiatric and medical professionals have previously shared skepticism about the claims made at Amen Clinics, according to The Washington Post
Bogus: Jeffrey Lieberman, former president of the APA, called the methods at Amen Clinics ‘the modern equivalent of phrenology,’ a discredited form of pseudoscience
Pricey: A 2008 article on Amen Clinics and the phenomena of diagnostic brain scans referred to them as ‘neuro babble,’ and session like Tallulah’s cost $3,500 as of 2012
Other professionals quoted said the scans were meant to fool a ‘vulnerable patient population that doesn’t know any better.’
A 2008 article on Amen Clinics and the phenomena of diagnostic brain scans referred to them as ‘neuro babble,’ and session like Tallulah’s cost $3,500 as of 2012.
Tallulah has previously shared with her 329,000 Instagram followers that she had dealt with body dysmorphia and obsessive–compulsive disorder in the past.
Earlier this summer, she admitted on Instagram that she went through a three-year period of not speaking to her mother Demi, though they later patched up their differences and seem to have had a strong relationship ever since.
Moving forward: Tallulah has previously shared with her 329,000 Instagram followers that she had dealt with body dysmorphia and obsessive–compulsive disorder in the past
Mother–daughter relationship: Earlier this summer, she admitted on Instagram that she went through a three-year period of not speaking to her mother Demi, though they later patched things up