The article Dr Naomi Boycott and I wrote about using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the treatment of non-epileptic seizures was recently published in the British Psychological Society’s Clinical Psychology Forum (Issue 347). It focuses on a service we developed for people who experience non-epileptic seizures, seeing people individually and in groups.
We felt that ACT was an especially appropriate model for helping people to manage their non-epileptic seizures for various reasons. These included the focus on living a life in a way that does justice to our values, the use of mindfulness processes to increase present-moment awareness and reducing experiential avoidance, as well as the emphasis on pain being a necessary part of living a full life. Russ Harris’s excellent Embracing Your Demons article gives a concise overview of ACT. We found that the model was generally well accepted. We also brought in strategies from more traditional CBT approaches and Compassion-Focussed Therapy as well as systemic and psychodynamic ways of formulating and working.
We found a range of resources that proved useful along the way. Here’s a selection of them:
Apps
myFND – a clear and simple app for people who experience functional symptoms
Neurosymptoms FND Guide – an app version of Prof John Stone’s very informative Neurosymptoms website
Smiling Mind – a high quality free mindfulness app with meditations for people across the whole age range, and focussed on a variety of concerns
Books
View From The Floor by Kate Berger
Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: A Guide by Lorna Myers
Not There – a Graphic Novel about non-epileptic seizures
Websites
Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures – an informative website edited by a wide range of experts in the field
Non-Epileptic Attacks – a UK-based site
FND Hope
Neurosymptoms