Drumroll…. Fifth Annual Conference on Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) will be taking place this October!

Five years ago, at the Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group, we took a leap into the unknown and organized our first ever PNES conference for patient and caregivers. Just days before the conference was to take place, we were understandably nervous.  We wondered if anyone would even show up, if there was any interest in the topic, and if this would be the first and last PNES conference. Fast forward now to five years...

A firefighter diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was just featured in a news article

Yesterday, an article in print and video format came out in which a Canadian firefighter describes the long road he traveled with his diagnosis of PNES. In it, he explains how he started to have problems after experiencing three sequential traumatic experiences. These, first led to developing post-traumatic stress disorder, and then progressed into PNES (a health condition that is woefully unknown to most).  His...

Fourth annual psychogenic non-epileptic seizures conference in New Jersey

This year we had the pleasure of holding what has now become a tradition: our annual conference on psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES)—our fourth annual conference! Some things were new this year though. To begin with, we moved our conference location from Mahwah, NJ to Morristown, NJ, where the Morristown Medical Center generously offered to host our event.  Different than other years, we were not in...

Why is scientific research in psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) so important and if you see that a study has opened up, why you should seriously consider applying to see if you qualify

A researcher of the brain You may not believe this if you are currently living with PNES and encountering a lot of the day to day challenges that come with it, but the panorama for PNES is actually improving (I know it can feel for some like too slow or not at all where you live, but remember, there is hope).  And one of the key ways in which we continue moving forward in making more improvements for those living...

Prolonged exposure therapy for the treatment of patients diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

We’d be hard pressed to find a clinician or researcher who doesn’t agree that the proper treatment for a confirmed diagnosis of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) or non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD-as it is called in the UK) is some form of psychotherapy.  Although, we’ve known this for decades, we’re still sorely uncertain as to which psychotherapeutic treatment modalities are not just most...