Neurology
Strong Epilepsy Center
Neurology Home > Clinical Services > Epilepsy Center Home
|
Psychosocial Team |
Our Psychosocial Team
The Strong Epilepsy Center takes a "whole person" approach to the evaluation and management of seizure disorders. We treat the neurological and biomedical needs of our patients, but we are also concerned with their emotional needs.
Seizures can have a enormous impact on the life of a patient and his or her family. Frustration, tension, anger, isolation, depression, anxiety, exhaustion, despair, and resentment can arise as patients and families attempt to cope with the devastating presence of unpredictable and uncontrollable seizures. Family relationships can suffer as schedules and energies have to be rearranged and redirected to manage this dominating and unwelcome force in the life of the family.
For some patients with epilepsy, emotional stress can play a significant role in triggering seizures. Sometimes emotional stress and internal tensions can be the sole cause of seizures.
At the Strong Epilepsy Center we have one of the most comprehensive psychosocial teams available in any epilepsy center in the country. Our patients have available to them the services of two neuropsychologists, a family psychologist, a psychiatrist, and a clinical social worker.
Every patient who is admitted to our in-patient Long Term Video/EEG unit is seen by a member of our psychosocial team to assess the emotional and relational context of his or her symptoms. Our goal is to define the emotional impact of seizures on the life of the patient and on the dynamics of the family. We also assess the impact of emotional factors on the occurrence of seizures.
Patients and their families are usually surprised by the unanticipated, and even life-changing, benefits that come from our "whole person" approach. We try to help them understand the underlying reasons for their seizures so that they can avoid the triggering factors. When they leave our Center, we encourage patients to seek effective psychosocial support in their own community.