Charles Parker, DO

Charles E. Parker, D.O., is a Child and Adult psychiatrist and board certified in Adult and Forensic psychiatry. He specializes in diagnostic and medical services for troubled children, adolescents and adults. His broad range of clinical experience from psychoanalysis to substance abuse, to psychopharmacology and neuroimaging, and his growing interesting in functional medicine and neurofeedback provide a comprehensive foundation for treatment interventions and recommendations. Dr Parker’s philosophy starts with a consistent practice of teamwork with everyone from the family in the office to a growing team of national and international providers with whom he regularly consults.

With 35 years experience in private practice he is interested in a variety of treatment issues from the challenging to the apparently simple, with patients who have multiple issues and treatment trials, and those uncomfortable with that first psychiatric consultation. Frequently he presents to a variety of national medical and lay audiences on topics from neuroimaging to advances in psychopharmacology and the growing pervasive problems with the downstream brain effects of neurotoxins. His book, Deep Recovery (1992), addresses a variety of theoretical and practical difficulties present in any recovery process, and has been used for years as a management training guide.

Dr. Parker's diverse background includes psychoanalysis (completed Adult Psychoanalytic Training with the Philadelphia Association for Psychoanalysis in 1978); training in personal coaching; certification as a Radiation Safety Officer by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; - and the use of neuroimaging for precise clinical guidelines to choose specific medical interventions with a wide variety of brain conditions. In 2006, he will complete advanced training in metabolic and cellular metabolism, and will be certified with the Institute for Functional Medicine.

The Amen Clinic neuroimaging technique, SPECT, is a nuclear medicine procedure that evaluates cerebral blood flow with a radioisotope. It evaluates areas of the brain that work well, areas of the brain that work too hard, and areas of the brain that do not work hard enough. This unique information from the scans, along with a detailed clinical history, helps clinicians understand the underlying brain patterns associated with patients’ problems and helps to pinpoint the right treatment to balance brain function.

Dr Amen, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and the world leader in applied diagnostic SPECT imaging with over 30,000 scans, appointed Parker as Chief Psychiatrist of the Amen Clinic DC in Reston, Virginia.  For information about SPECT scans and his work at the Amen Clinics in Reston, visit the web site at www.amenclinics.com.

Dr. Parker is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the Medical Society of Virginia, Institute for Functional Medicine and the medical staff of Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital.