Non-Epileptic Seizures in Our Experience Accounts of Healthcare Professionals

To an outside observer, Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES) look like epileptic seizures. The manifestations of PNES include collapses, impaired consciousness, and seizure-related injuries. However, unlike epileptic seizures, which are the result of abnormal electrical discharges in the brain, most PNES are an automatic psychological response to a trigger perceived as threatening. Not least because the changes in the brain that underpin PNES cannot be visualised easily with clinical tests (such as the EEG), there are many uncertainties and controversies surrounding the condition. Patients often provoke a mixture of emotions in healthcare professionals. In the authors' previous book, In Our Words: Personal Accounts of Living with Non-Epileptic Seizures, over 100 individuals with PNES and their family wrote about their experiences with the condition. While some had positive care experiences, many were left feeling confused, angry, and abandoned by the clinicians they had encountered. Non-Epileptic Seizures in Our Experience: Accounts of Health Care Professionals complements the authors' previous book by presenting the perspectives of over 90 members of different healthcare professions from around the world. The anonymous publication format has enabled many not only to share success stories but also to be open about difficulties and failures. This volume will be an invaluable resource for both highly experienced professionals as well as relative novice and those experiencing PNES. This book will challenge negative attitudes surrounding the condition, improve understanding between healthcare professionals and patients, and - ultimately - advance the quality of care provided for those with PNES.

Markus Reuber is a Neurologist whose clinical work and research focuses on seizure disorders. He is particularly interested in the differential diagnosis of epilepsy and the aetiology and treatment of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and has published over 200 articles on these and other neurological topics. Apart from helping to develop a clinical service for his own patients, as Chair of the Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizure Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy, he has helped to advance the cause of individuals with PNES around the world. He is Editor-in-Chief of Seizure - European Journal of Epilepsy. Gregg H. Rawlings is currently a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at The University of Sheffield, UK. He has completed a BSc and MSc in Psychology, and more recently, a PhD in Clinical Neuroscience. His doctoral thesis involved exploring the subjective experience of living with epileptic or nonepileptic seizures. He was lead author of the first systematic review investigating healthcare professional's perceptions of PNES involving nearly 4000 professionals worldwide. Steven C. Schachter is Chief Academic Officer for the Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation & Technology (CIMIT) and a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He is Past President of the American Epilepsy Society and serves on the Epilepsy Foundation of America Board of Directors. Dr. Schachter has published over 250 articles and chapters and edited or written 35 books. He is a member of the Administrative Committee of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), the Clinical Editor for Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine and founding editor and editor-in-chief of the medical journals Epilepsy & Behavior and Epilepsy & Behavior Case Reports.