non epileptic

Can my psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) be treated by a physical or occupational therapist instead of by a psychotherapist? 

Leave a Comment / 2026, News /

People with functional neurological disorder (FND) have many different symptoms. Some have ongoing problems with movement or feeling, like weakness or numbness. Others have episodes that resemble epileptic seizures. These are called psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, or PNES. However, with the more recent proposal to replace the name “PNES” with “functional seizures or functional/dissociative seizures” in […]

Can my psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) be treated by a physical or occupational therapist instead of by a psychotherapist?  Read More »

Why healthy scientific debate matters for PNES patients’ wellbeing and clinical care

Leave a Comment / 2026, News, Uncategorized /

I am pleased to announce the publication of our Letter to the Editor in Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy:“A call for reflection on unintended consequences: Should ‘functional/dissociative seizures’ replace ‘psychogenic nonepileptic seizures’?”by Lorna Myers, Anton Scamvougeras, Lenka Kramska, and Julia Doss.Read it here: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1nKCV3mqOkYIit The Background on this Letter: The ILAE Proposal and Our Response

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

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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

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

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

Leave a Comment / 2026, News, Uncategorized /

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;

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

“De-Psychiatrizing” FND: Why it isn’t as straightforward as hoped— especially when including psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES)

Leave a Comment / 2026, News /

In their 2026 article “Approach to the Patient with FND: Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Developing a Treatment Plan,” published in Seminars in Neurology, Michael Daniel DeDominicis and Sarah Lidstone propose reframing functional neurological disorder (FND) as a brain network disorder involving altered predictive processing, attention, and sense of agency. They argue that moving away from older

“De-Psychiatrizing” FND: Why it isn’t as straightforward as hoped— especially when including psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) Read More »

Unintended consequences of replacing psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) with functional seizures

Leave a Comment / 2026, News /

With new advances in understanding PNES, there have been changes in how the diagnosis is explained and what the condition itself is named. The shift, recommended by some professionals in the field, emphasizes the biological aspects of the disorder, removes reference to psychological elements (functional seizures), and seemingly provides a wider foundation for how to

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Saving Stripes: A book about nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and a zoo

Leave a Comment / 2026, News, nonepileptic /

I knew something was off as soon as I was standing at the edge of the fence. The female, Sasha, always came up to the fence to say hello to me. A small crowd had gathered in front of their enclosure. My eyes darted around, trying to find out what was wrong. I saw the male, Nico, sleeping on

Saving Stripes: A book about nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and a zoo Read More »

Choosing “functional seizures” over PNES: what might happen

1 Comment / 2025, News, nonepileptic, Uncategorized /

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

Choosing “functional seizures” over PNES: what might happen Read More »

Functional Seizures and Epilepsy: My dual diagnosis

Leave a Comment / 2025, News /

The nonepileptic seizure Blog has invited author, Linda McClure, to tell us about her book “Mind Games.” It walks the reader through the experience of living with epilepsy and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), also known as functional/dissociative seizures. This is a unique group of patients, often excluded from research and that can be difficult to

Functional Seizures and Epilepsy: My dual diagnosis Read More »

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