The Clinical Psychologist's Handbook of Epilepsy : Assessment and Management

Psychological techniques have a major role to play in the treatment and management of epilepsy. The Clinical Psychologist's Handbook of Epilepsy is the first comprehensive reference text written specifically from a psychological angle. A team of experts review the latest research and give practical advice for the clinician in areas including neuropsychological assessment, the impact of anti-epileptic medication, behaviour problems in children with epilepsy, and the impact of epilepsy in people with learning disabilities. A practical handbook for all psychologists working in the area, whether new to the field or more experienced, The Clinical Psychologist's Handbook of Epilepsy will also provide a useful resource for research. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of Illustrations......Page 9 Notes on Contributors......Page 10 Preface......Page 14 Acknowledgements......Page 16 Introduction......Page 18 An introduction to epilepsy......Page 21 Causes of epilepsy......Page 22 Prognosis......Page 25 Classification of seizure disorders......Page 26 Investigations......Page 29 Treatment......Page 30 Conclusions......Page 33 Neuropsychological assessment......Page 35 Executive functions and frontal lobe lesions......Page 39 Intellectual ability......Page 41 Other factors influencing cognitive performance......Page 42 Practical guide......Page 44 Conclusions......Page 47 Epilepsy and memory......Page 52 Risk factors......Page 54 Other memory studies......Page 58 Rehabilitation......Page 61 Memory assessment......Page 62 Intervention......Page 65 Conclusions......Page 66 Assessment for surgery......Page 71 The contribution of neuropsychological assessment......Page 72 Specific surgical interventions and pre- and post-operative neuropsychology......Page 74 Practical guide......Page 84 Psychosocial issues......Page 88 The role of anti-epileptic drugs: their impact on cognitive function and behaviour......Page 94 Review of drug effects......Page 99 Conclusions......Page 108 Psychological responses to epilepsy: their development, prognosis and treatment......Page 113 Prevalence of psychological problems in epilepsy......Page 115 The contribution of the clinical psychologist to the management of psychological problems in epilepsy......Page 121 Summary......Page 125 Psychological control of seizures......Page 130 Approaches to the psychological management of seizures......Page 132 Non-epileptic seizures......Page 138 Practical guide......Page 141 Conclusions......Page 143 Quality of life......Page 147 Quality of life and the patient with epilepsy......Page 148 Measurement of QoL in patients with epilepsy......Page 151 Summary......Page 160 Neuropsychological and cognitive assessment of children with epilepsy......Page 166 The multifactorial framework of disability......Page 168 Assessment of children;practical considerations......Page 172 Conclusion......Page 179 Assessment and management of behaviour problems in children......Page 184 Neurobiological factors......Page 185 Pharmacological factors......Page 188 Psychosocial factors......Page 190 The multi-aetiological approach......Page 192 Assessment and treatment: clinical considerations......Page 193 Future developments......Page 197 Epilepsy and learning disabilities......Page 201 The sequelae of epilepsy in learning disabilities......Page 202 The role of the clinical psychologist in the practical management of people with epilepsy and learning disabilities......Page 209 Conclusion......Page 215 The way forward......Page 220 Psychological interventions......Page 223 Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs)......Page 225 Behaviour problems in children......Page 226 Family issues......Page 227 Appendix......Page 230 Contributors' addresses......Page 232 Index......Page 234 Annotation Psychological techniques have a major role to play in the treatment and management of epilepsy. The Clinical Psychologist's Handbook of Epilepsyis the first comprehensive reference text written specifically from a psychological angle. A team of experts review the latest research and give practical advice for the clinician in areas including neuropsychological assessment, the impact of anti-epileptic medication, behaviour problems in children with epilepsy, and the impact of epilepsy in people with learning disabilities. A practical handbook for all psychologists working in the area, whether new to the field or more experienced, The Clinical Psychologist's Handbook of Epilepsywill also provide a useful resource for research Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder, occurring in 5:1000 children (Cowan et al. 1989) and in 4-7:1000 adults (Hauser and Annegers 1993), such that in the UK it has been estimated that there are approximately 350,000 people with a diagnosis of epilepsy (Brown and Betts 1994). This is the first comprehensive and practical handbook on epilepsy, written specifically from a psychological angle. It contains contributions from experts in the field and provides a review of the latest research findings