Neuropsychological testing uses standardized measures to evaluate cognitive (e.g., intelligence, attention and executive functions, memory, language, and visuo-spatial and motor skills) and emotional functions (depression, anxiety, alexithymia, stress coping, anger, psychological trauma symptoms, etc.).
At the Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group, we have developed a neuropsychological battery of tests for patients being evaluated for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. It differs in several respects from the typical battery of tests used to assess epilepsy patients. This lesson goes over that battery, discusses typical cognitive and emotional variables (including performance and symptom validity issues) that can come up. It also explains how to prepare to test someone with seizures, the importance of the feedback session and suggests how a treating clinician might tailor treatment using the information from the neuropsychological report.
Audience: Health professionals (mental health professionals including neuropsychologists, psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, psychiatric nurse practitioner, psychological associates, etc.)
Learning Points: Throughout this course, you will:
• How can neuropsychological testing be useful in the diagnosis of PNES
• What are the standard cognitive tests in the NEREG PNES battery
• What are the standard psychological measures in the NEREG PNES battery
• Performance and symptom validity concerns in PNES
• Practical recommendations for testing someone with PNES
• How to translate test results for patients and use them to adjust our treatments
Dr. Lorna Myers is the director of the Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) Program in New York and New Jersey, USA. She is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist and has been working with patients who have PNES and/or epilepsy for over 20 years. Her research has been published in a number of scientific journals, she has authored professional book chapters, and presents in meetings across the US and abroad. In 2013, she wrote “Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures: A Guide,” a book for patients and their caregivers. Royalties from that book are donated to Epilepsy Alliance America, a foundation that awards scholarships to adults diagnosed with PNES to help with the costs of their studies. In 2023, together with her Dr. Julia Doss, she co-authored “The Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizure Pocketbook.”
Dr. Myers is a certified prolonged exposure therapist and clinical supervisor and has pioneered the modification and use of this treatment modality for patients diagnosed with PTSD and PNES. She is also certified in integrative hypnosis.
Other interesting facts about her is that she is fluent in English and Spanish, and her other main research interest is in multicultural topics including treatment of bilingual and bicultural (or monocultural Hispanic) patients and the study of neuropsychological measures for Spanish-speaking patients evaluated in the US.
