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

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.  Typically they have many questions for me and sometimes express uncertainty about whether they are really prepared and knowledgeable enough to work with this type of symptom.
This blog is written for these clinicians in mind.  On this page, clinicians can learn about many of the current professional resources available for therapists.  The first one is a comprehensive and general guide that you might describe as “everything you always wanted to know about PNES, but didn’t know where to find that information until now.”  The second one is a website that contains a library of on-demand, online webinars on a variety of topics ranging from PNES treatment for adults and children, seizure safety, and more. The third and fourth items are modality-specific manuals (one is for CBT and one is for mindfulness-based therapy) that have been tailored to work with PNES.

 

PNES for clinicians: general pocketbooks and courses

  • The Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizure Pocketbook by Doss and Myers is a short and sweet “pocketbook” for psychotherapists and other health professionals who may just be starting to see PNES in their practice.

It is a general guide that explains why and how psychotherapy can be useful in treating psychogenic (functional) seizure disorders.  Some chapters focus only on pediatric PNES and some focus only on adult PNES.  The PNES Pocketbook also explains how psychotherapists can tailor their chosen treatment modality (e.g., CBT, MBT, PE, etc.) to work effectively with these patients. Another chapter goes over safety in the office and discusses many practical topics such as, how to manage work, school, travel, etc. when someone is living with PNES. This book is available in print at a reasonable price and in a Kindle version at an especially affordable price.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFCWVZRT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DGJGYJVCT6V7&keywords=The+psychogenic+pocketbook&qid=1691856864&s=books&sprefix=the+psychogenic+pocketbook%2Cstripbooks%2C84&sr=1-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc

 

This comprehensive online library of courses is for health professionals who wish to increase their knowledge of PNES in order to work effectively and safely with patients who have been given this diagnosis.
The website offers a wide range of courses on various topics, such as adult and pediatric treatments, working with schools and families of children who have PNES, treating special patient groups, and how to ensure seizure safety, among others.

Psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, nurses, educational staff, and other professionals can choose courses that are tailored to their specific needs. The courses are designed to help stay up to date on the latest advancements, improve patient care skills, and, in the future, prepare for certification.

Each course is taught by an instructor who is an expert in this field. The courses are structured so the learners can learn at their own pace; they can be paused and searched to easily find subsections to rewatch. Each course includes learning points and a quiz at the end so the learners can test their knowledge of the key points of what they just watched.

The founders of this online library, Drs. Myers and Doss will offer supervision groups in the near future and once the site’s library has grown sufficiently, certification in treating PNES will be available too.
The website is being updated regularly with new content which can include content prompted by questions through the “contact us” tab.

 

Specific PNES treatment modality manuals

  • For clinicians who have trained in a CBT modality, there is a book called Treating nonepileptic seizures: Therapist guide by LaFrance and Wincze
    The book targets a wide audience including medical doctors, psychologists, psychotherapists, nurses, and other practitioners. It provides a validated, step-by-step approach for PNES. It is meant to be used in conjunction with the patient workbook, Taking Control of Your Seizures.
    The book walks the reader session by session focusing on psychoeducation (about PNES, medication management). Patients are assisted over twelve sessions to augment their understanding of connections between seizure triggers, emotions, thoughts, and seizures themselves.
    There is scientific validation regarding the effectiveness of this treatment for adults with PNES.

 

  • For clinicians who have trained in mindfulness-based treatment modalities or have an affinity for this approach, there is a manual titled Mindfulness-based psychotherapy for psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. It is intended to be used by psychotherapists working with patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES, also referred to as non‐epileptic seizures –NES‐ or non‐epileptic attacks –NEA‐ or dissociative seizures –DS‐). The manual was developed by Baslet and Oser and is available here (at no cost although if it is published in the future, this may change): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ne77GtccvepYMmyiLK0OQAG4Pw4frn2g.
    This manualized treatment is standardized to be completed in 12 sessions. The twelve sessions are divided into 5 modules: 1) Understanding your disease and your treatment, 2) Stress management strategies, 3) Mindfulness, 4) Emotion management and 5) Reworking cognitions and relapse prevention.
    There is scientific validation regarding the effectiveness of this treatment for adults with PNES.

 

When I encountered my first patient diagnosed with PNES 20+ years ago, I would have loved to have all the clinical resources that exist now! It makes me so happy to see how the field has progressed in these last decades, and I hope it will continue to move forward. People living with PNES deserve no less!

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