Psychotherapeutische Interventionen im Rahmen der stationären Behandlung in Epilepsiezentren

Epilepsy is often associated with a high degree of psychosocial stress and the prevalence of comorbid mental disorders is correspondingly high. Dissociative seizures are also the most important psychiatric differential diagnosis of epilepsy. The updated epilepsy guidelines recommend the systematic diagnostic assessment and simultaneous treatment of psychological complaints in people with seizures.

This article presents psychotherapeutic interventions as part of the comprehensive treatment in epilepsy centers.

This article illustrates the practical implementation of psychotherapeutic interventions in addition to funding options in the Epilepsy Center Berlin-Brandenburg in Berlin and the Ruhr-Epileptology Clinic in Bochum.

Patients undergo a psychotherapeutic intervention that is tailored to their individual needs and is an interdisciplinary concept. Consideration of the specific characteristics of the course of the seizure disorder and different topics, e.g., acceptance, psychosomatic relationships, resource activation, is important. At the interface to post-inpatient treatment, enhancement of motivation, alleviation of the concerns of outpatient therapists and networking with other treatment facilities are important.

The integration of psychotherapeutic interventions ensures that epileptological treatment is in line with current epilepsy guidelines. This explicitly includes the care of people with dissociative seizures. Integrated psychotherapeutic programs that realize guideline recommendations can be designed differently depending on the clinics’ resources. The organization holds opportunities and challenges; intraprofessional and interprofessional exchange and accompanying evaluations lead to optimization and quality assurance.