Working with the Parents

, Julia Doss², Sigita Plioplys³ and Jana E. Jones⁴

(1)

Department of Psychiatry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

(2)

Department of Psychology, Minnesota Epilepsy Group, St. Paul, MN, USA

(3)

Department of Psychiatry, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

(4)

Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

Keywords

ParentDistressChild’s illnessChild’s physical symptomsRelaxation techniques

Parent Goal 1: Revisit How Parents Manage Their Distress During Child’s NES Episodes

As described in sections “Techniques for Building Rapport with the Parents” and “Behavioral Management of PNES: The Parents’ Role” of Chap. 4, from the initial phase of therapy, it is necessary to help the parents recognize the emotions that their child’s NES and other physical symptoms provoke in them. Understanding how they feel during episodes is essential for you to help them develop responses that will be most appropriate for the management of the child’s symptoms. It also helps the parents be open to the techniques described below that you model and practice with them.

Parent’s Fears

Ask the parents about their fears of what might happen to the child during an episode or when the child has other physical complaints. Do they feel their child is being physically hurt? Do they fear that there is something dangerous happening in their child’s brain and body?

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