Uncategorized Archives - Non Epileptic Seizures

Why Are So Many Doctors Uncomfortable with the Psychogenic in PNES?

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / Lorna Myers

Empathetic Reformers? The doctors leading the recent push to rename PNES—most visibly in the 2025 ILAE Task Force proposal for “functional/dissociative seizures (F/DS)” and the American Academy of Neurology’s 2025 guideline that settled on “functional seizures”—often frame the change as patient-centered and anti-stigma. They claim that the word “psychogenic” makes patients feel blamed, that it […]

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“Functional Seizures”? “So, I still have seizures, right?” — Benbadis’ 2020 warning is more relevant than ever

Leave a Comment / 2026, News, Uncategorized / Lorna Myers

In 2020, epileptologist Selim R. Benbadis published a short but pointed letter to the editor in Epilepsy & Behavior: “Functional seizures? ‘So I still have seizures, right? The piece was in response to the growing enthusiasm for replacing “psychogenic nonepileptic seizures” (PNES) with the term “functional seizures” (or FS). Benbadis pushed back against this rebranding;

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Choosing “functional seizures” over PNES: what might happen

Leave a Comment / 2025, News, nonepileptic, Uncategorized / Lorna Myers

Abandoning the term “psychogenic nonepileptic seizures” (PNES) in favor of “functional (dissociative) seizures” or simply “functional seizures” needs to be examined. We need to consider possible unintended negative consequences of this name change. My sense of urgency comes from a troubling scenario I foresee. Read on and feel free to challenge me on this or

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Sounding the alarm: the push for “functional” seizures rather than “psychogenic” can have serious unintended consequences

1 Comment / 2025, News, nonepileptic, Uncategorized / Lorna Myers

A recent ILAE Task Force proposal (Hingray et al., 2025) recommends replacing the term “psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES)” with “functional/dissociative seizures (F/DS)” arguing that some experts feel that PNES lacks acceptability and that many patients reject it. Which Experts?It is unclear what experts the authors are referring to since the Task Force did not consult

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Driving, depression, and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES)

Leave a Comment / 2025, News, Uncategorized / Lorna Myers

The three items listed in the title of this blog post might seem unrelated but they were part of an article that was published last month. The article drew some useful and thought-provoking conclusions that might be useful for clinicians working with PNES. The study described in “Characteristics of patients diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures

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Very important resources for Health Professionals who work with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES)

Leave a Comment / 2025, News, Uncategorized / Lorna Myers

Several times a month, I receive inquiries from psychotherapists who are working with their very first patient diagnosed with PNES or who have run into something unexpected. These therapists have shown initiative by taking to the internet to find resources, which is a great sign. Somehow, they managed to come upon my name and email.

Very important resources for Health Professionals who work with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) Read More »

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