Mental Health Organizations and the Ostrich Policy

In a strongly worded editorial (linked below) in the journal Neuropsychiatry, Dr. Selim Benbadis, professor and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital, presents a compelling argument about the failure of both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association to provide abundant patient education materials regarding somatoform disorders and conversion disorder.

It is well known that the epilepsy community has very much overtaken the care, for wrong or right, for individuals who have psychogenic nonepileptic events. This is well illustrated by some of the important points that Dr. Benbadis makes with regards to available fact sheets and pamphlets, available on the American Psychiatric Association as well as the American Psychological Association websites. Clearly, it appears as though neurologists, and in particular epilepsy specialists, are on their own in helping to address the public health issues associated with these patients. We hope that Dr. Benbadis' article and our highlighting of this helps to push change and motivate education.