For this month’s blog post, we have invited a young researcher to share her call for research subjects on this site. This research has been approved by an institutional review board and is completely voluntary. If you are interested in reading more about it or in participating if you fit the inclusion criteria, click on […]
Moral injury in female US combat veterans diagnosed with PNES Read More »
It is important for mental health professionals to be cognizant of this because these patients exist and are encountered in psychotherapists’ offices with certain regularity. For decades if not centuries (if we look back to Pierre Janet and Sigmund Freud) it has been understood that psychological trauma is an important risk factor in the development
Recently, Goldstein et al published their results from a randomized CBT treatment versus “treatment as usual” (TAU) study in which treatment outcome in patients who had a history of dissociative seizures was compared (Goldstein et al., 2020). The study is the largest and most well-designed study to date. It included an initial 3-month observation period
This poem was written by a young adult living with the effects of Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). Through this poem she communicates to others what her experience is like. Perhaps these words may resonate with you too. ITS BLINKING I SEE A BIG FLASH IM MY HEAD YOU FALL WITH
If you have been diagnosed with Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and are feeling alone on this journey, I advise you to pick up a copy of “On the floor again” by young author, Mia Montgomery. This is a highly entertaining book in which you will find yourself turning page after page, wanting to know what
Kanaan and Craig recently published an article “Conversion disorders and the trouble with trauma” (see reference at the bottom of this page) in which they present the reader with a cogent overview of the current debate of whether conversion disorder should be conceptualized as “psychogenic” or instead “as a yet unexplained neurological disorder.” They argue,
Recent article: Conversion disorder and the trouble with trauma Read More »
This poem was shared by someone who has lived with PNES. Her first seizure occurred with no warning while she was at work. After an initial diagnosis of epilepsy, rounds of medicine, and realizing that medication was not stopping the seizures, she was diagnosed with PNES. A traumatic event that occurred to her decades before
Frozen in time: trauma and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) Read More »
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
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
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
