Table of Contents

Contents
Chapter 1. Introductory Information for Therapists
Chapter 2. Introduction Session: Understanding Seizures
Chapter 3. Making the Decision to Begin the Process of Taking Control
Chapter 4. Getting Support
Chapter 5. Deciding About Your Drug Therapy
Chapter 6. Learning to Observe Your Triggers
Chapter 7. Channeling Negative Emotions into Productive Outlets
Chapter 8. Relaxation Training
Chapter 9. Identifying Your Pre-seizure Aura
Chapter 10. Dealing with External Life Stresses
Chapter 11. Dealing with Internal Issues and Conflicts
Chapter 12. Enhancing Personal Wellness: Learning to Reduce Tensions
Chapter 13. Other Symptoms Associated with Seizures
Chapter 14. Taking Control: An On-Going Process
Chapter 15. Prognosis (patient outcomes)
Chapter 16. When a Patient Has a Seizure in the Office
Chapter 17. Workbook Appendices
References
About the Authors

About the Author

W. Curt LaFrance Jr., MD, MPH, is Director of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology at Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Alpert Medical School, Brown University. He is the neuropsychiatrist for the RIH Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and a faculty member of the Brown Institute for Brain Science. He studied at Wake Forest University (BA in psychology), Medical College of Georgia (MD), and Brown
University (MPH). He trained in Brown's combined residency in neurology and psychiatry and is double boarded. His research is in neuropsychiatric aspects of epilepsy, somatoform disorders, and Traumatic Brain Injury. He
is co-editor of Gates and Rowan's Nonepileptic Seizures.

Jeffrey Peter Wincze, PhD, is a staff psychologist at Rhode Island Hospital and a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from Boston University and he worked and completed post-doctoral training at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. He has been involved in federally funded research grants investigating the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders. He has
published articles in the areas of anxiety disorders, compulsive hoarding, and biofeedback. His current research is focused on management of depression and treatment of conversion disorders.

Reviews

"Years ago, Reiter and Andrews developed a multifaceted behavioral approach for the treatment of epilepsy, which was modified and appears to be particularly effective in the treatment of nonepileptic seizures. This Therapist Guide by LaFrance and Wincze and the accompanying Workbook, derived from the original Reiter and Andrews program are, together, a unique and sorely needed contribution. For the first time, there is a truly comprehensive
outline for the behavioral management of epilepsy and nonepileptic seizures that should not only be valuable for the treatment of individual patients, but also serve as a basis for focused clinical research." --Jerome
Engel, Jr., MD, PhD, Jonathan Sinay Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Neurobiology, and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and Director, Seizure Disorder Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
"Understanding the distinctions between epileptic and non-epileptic seizures has presented a medical conundrum for over two thousand years. Dr. LaFrance and his colleagues have taken a grip on these difficult subjects. Not only have they taken on the responsibility of setting up treatment programs, they have embarked upon controlled trials, at last confirming the effectiveness of psychological interventions. This Therapist Guide and Workbook
for patients are unique in the complex field of neuropsychiatry. These books serve to emphasize what can be done for people with all kinds of seizures and lay out a management strategy which will set a gold standard,
especially for people with non-epileptic seizures." --Michael Trimble, MD, Professor Emeritus of Behavioural Neurology, Institute of Neurology, University of London
The Treating Nonepileptic Seizures: Therapist Guide offers hope to both patients and providers by providing a validated step-by-step treatment for NES that has been shown to decrease seizures and increase quality of life... The most significant strength of the Therapist Guide is that it is the only available book to guide seizure counselors in a specific treatment of patients with NES, providing an understanding of NES as well as serving as a practical
guide for care. It is written for a wide spectrum of healthcare providers. Other strengths include the introductory chapters which provide insight into the complexity of NES and the instructions for handling a
seizure in the office... This book fills a void in clinical epilepsy in offering both clinically relevant and practical management strategies for patients with NES. There are no other books that aim to do this."
--Epilepsy & Behavior
"This workbook and therapist guide provide welcome resources for managing nonepileptic seizures. They deserve wide reading and application by psychiatric and neurological clinicians who encounter patients with this disorder."
--The American Journal of Psychiatry