This chapter assesses the experience of a Psychiatric Social Worker with patients with seizures. Having operated a nationwide Epilepsy Information Service in the USA since the 1970s, the Psychiatric Social Worker has talked with hundreds of thousands of persons with seizures and non-epileptic seizures, and a number who have both diagnoses. There was one patient in particular who was a frequent caller to the Epilepsy Information Service. His seizures were uncontrolled and he was seeking a better answer for his seizures. The patient was followed by a general neurologist who had explored every option to find a medicine that worked. The Psychiatric Social Worker then suggested that he talk with his doctor about referral to a comprehensive epilepsy center for monitoring to see if surgery might be an option or perhaps enrollment in a clinical trial of a new anticonvulsant. Later, he was seen by a Psychologist in whom he confided that he had been sexually abused as a child. The Psychologist informed him in an angry and impatient manner that he was having pseudoseizures, which made him feel violated once again and thus led him to depression. This case vividly portrays the importance of how the diagnosis is relayed and the power of words in these crucial situations.
Role of the Psychiatric Social Worker in Teaching Medical Students