psychological trauma

New article highlight: “Quality of life and psychological dysfunction in traumatized and non-traumatized patients with PNES”

In March, our summer intern, Nadine Boesten, together with her supervisors Ben Wijnen and Lorna Myers published an article with the following title: “Quality of life and psychological dysfunction in traumatized and nontraumatized patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES).” This study aimed to examine whether there are distinct subgroups within those who have psychogenic non-epileptic …

New article highlight: “Quality of life and psychological dysfunction in traumatized and non-traumatized patients with PNES” Read More »

New article compares patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) to patients with intractable partial epilepsy on trauma, somatization and dissociation

This month, several colleagues at the Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group published a new article: “Psychological trauma, somatization, dissociation, and psychiatric comorbidities in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures compared with those in patients with intractable partial epilepsy.” The initial aim of the project was to better understand psychological trauma in PNES and in persons with epilepsy (PWEs) and …

New article compares patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) to patients with intractable partial epilepsy on trauma, somatization and dissociation Read More »

Are psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) the same in men and women?

In 2017, we set about trying to answer a question that had been on my mind for a few years. The query was whether women and men with PNES were the same in all respects or different, and if they were different, in what ways. The reason answering this question is important is because better …

Are psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) the same in men and women? Read More »

Book recommendation: Trauma and Recovery-The aftermath of violence from domestic abuse to political terror by Judith Herman, M.D.

In 1992, Dr. Herman published this groundbreaking book that, over the years, has helped educate countless clinicians who treat traumatized individuals. I believe I came upon this first edition in 1995.  The most updated version came out recently in 2015.  In my opinion, this book provides one of the clearest and insightful explanations of the …

Book recommendation: Trauma and Recovery-The aftermath of violence from domestic abuse to political terror by Judith Herman, M.D. Read More »

Book recommendation: Guises of Desire is the beautifully told story of one of the best known patients with a psychogenic and dissociative disorder

The time and place: Vienna, Austria in the 1800’s.  The main character of the story is real: Bertha Pappenheim (AKA Anna O). In Guises of Desire, the author, Hilda Reilly, recounts Bertha’s intense years living with these psychogenic symptoms using a wonderful combination of solid research and imagination.  Ms. Reilly descriptions of Bertha’s variety of …

Book recommendation: Guises of Desire is the beautifully told story of one of the best known patients with a psychogenic and dissociative disorder Read More »

So you’ve been told you have PNES – What’s that?

You’ve certainly been dealt a real challenge.  Why? Because PNES is  a very complicated psychological condition that seems to defy logic.  There are however some promising treatments. We only need to figure out who they will serve best. In my opinion, the biggest problem lies in that we may be lumping different conditions into one single …

So you’ve been told you have PNES – What’s that? Read More »

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