title: Psychobehavioral therapy for epilepsy.
abstract: Growing evidence suggests a bidirectional interaction between epileptic seizures and psychological states, fuelling the interest in the development and application of psychobehavioral therapy for people with epilepsy (PWE). The objective of this article is to review the various psychobehavioral therapies in regard to their application, hypothesized mechanisms, and effectiveness. Most psychobehavioral therapy aims at improving psychological well-being and seizure control. Behavioral approaches, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and mind-body interventions are the most widely applied approaches for PWE. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, mind-body approaches, and multimodel educative interventions have consistently demonstrated positive effects on enhancing well-being. Nevertheless, the effects on seizure control remain inconsistent, partly attributable to small clinical trials and inadequate control groups. Assessor-blinded randomized controlled trials with sufficient power and carefully defined therapeutic components corresponding with objective and subjective outcome measures are recommended for future trial designs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong; Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Electronic address: venustang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Venus
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Herdecke, Department of Neurology, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313 Herdecke, Germany; Faculty of Health, Department of Medicine, Chair for Theory of Medicine, Integrative and Anthroposophic Medicine, Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke, Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50, 58448 Witten, Germany; Andrews/Reiter Epilepsy Research Program, 19265 Deer Hill Rd., Hidden Valley Lake, CA 95467, USA.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Michaelis
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Neurology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kwan
mesh_terms: D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies; D064866:Mindfulness; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012640:Seizures / Q000628:therapy
keywords: Cognitive–behavioral therapy; Epilepsy; Mechanism; Mindfulness; Mind–body; Psychotherapy; Stress