Pediatric Psychology and Epilepsy: A State of the Field and Call to Action

Abstract

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions affecting children and adolescence. Youth with epilepsy (YWE) are at greater risk for emotional, behavioral, and academic concern when compared with both healthy controls and youth with other chronic medical conditions. In addition, rates of nonadherence to antiepileptic medications are quite high, leading to less than optimal seizure control and negative impact on quality of life. Despite well documented need for behavioral health intervention, epilepsy has been underserved by pediatric psychologists in both clinical and research endeavors. This commentary posits that pediatric psychologists are uniquely qualified to join epilepsy treatment teams and contribute to scholarly activities related to YWE. Current research and clinical activities of pediatric psychologists within the epilepsy population are explored. We conclude with a call for increased training opportunities within the epilepsy population so that pediatric psychologists can impact the management of behavioral health needs with in this population.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychological Association . (2011). Guidelines for psychological practice in healthcare delivery systems. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/delivery-systems.aspx

American Psychological Association . (2014). Guidelines for clinical supervision in health service psychology. Retrieved from http://apa.org/about/policy/guidelines-supervision.pdf

APA Government Relations Staff . (2010). The patient protection and affordable care act: New protections and opportunities for practicing psychologists. Retrieved from http://www.apapracticecentral.org/advocacy/reform/patient-protection.aspx

Asato

M. R.

Caplan

Hermann

B. P.

(2014). Epilepsy and comorbidities – What are we waiting for? Epilepsy & Behavior, 31, 127–128. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.11.027

Austin

J. K.

Dunn

D. W.

(2008). Academic achievement. In Schacter

S. C.

Holmes

G. L.

Trenite

D. G. A.

(Eds.), Behavioral aspects of epilepsy: Principles & practice (pp. 397–401). New York, NY: Demos.

Austin

J. K.

Perkins

S. M.

Johnson

C. S.

Fastenau

P. S.

Byars

A. W.

deGrauw

T. J.

Dunn

D. W.

(2011). Behavior problems in children at time of first recognized seizure and changes over the following 3 years. Epilepsy & Behavior, 21, 373–381. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2011.05.028

Baca

C. B.

Vickrey

B. G.

Caplan

Vassar

S. D.

Berg

A. T.

(2011). Psychiatric and medical comorbidity and quality of life outcomes in childhood-onset epilepsy. Pediatrics, 128, e1532–e1543. 10.1542/peds.2011-0245

Barry

J. J.

Ettinger

A. B.

Friel

Gilliam

F. G.

Harden

C. L.

Hermann

. . . Advisory Group of the Epilepsy Foundation as part of its Mood Disorder . (2008). Consensus statement: The evaluation and treatment of people with epilepsy and affective disorders. Epilepsy & Behavior, 13(Suppl. 1), S1–S29. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2008.04.005

Christensen

Vestergaard

Mortensen

P. B.

Sidenius

Agerbo

(2007). Epilepsy and risk of suicide: A population-based case-control study. Lancet Neurology, 6, 693–698. 10.1016/S1474-4422(07)70175-8

10.

Dunn

D. W.

Austin

J. K.

(2008). Psychiatric aspects of epilepsy in children. In Schacter

S. C.

Holmes

G. L.

Trenite

D. G. A.

(Eds.), Behavioral aspects of epilepsy: Principles & practice (pp. 349–354). New York, NY: Demos.

11.

England

Liverman

Schultz

Strawbridge

(Eds.). (2012). Epilepsy across the spectrum: Promoting health and understanding. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

12.

Fisher

R. S.

Acevedo

Arzimanoglou

Bogacz

Cross

J. H.

Elger

C. E.

. . . Wiebe

(2014). ILAE official report: A practical clinical definition of epilepsy. Epilepsia, 55, 475–482. 10.1111/epi.12550

13.

Fountain

N. B.

Van Ness

P. C.

Bennett

Absher

Patel

A. D.

Sheth

K. N.

. . . Stecker

(2015). Quality improvement in neurology: Epilepsy Update Quality Measurement Set. Neurology, 84, 1483–1487. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001448

14.

Geerts

Arts

W. F.

Stroink

Peeters

Brouwer

Peters

. . . van Donselaar

(2010). Course and outcome of childhood epilepsy: A 15-year follow-up of the Dutch Study of Epilepsy in Childhood. Epilepsia, 51, 1189–1197. 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2010.02546.x

15.

Guilfoyle

S. M.

Follansbee-Junger

Modi

(2013). Development and preliminary implementation of a psychosocial service into standard medical care for pediatric epilepsy. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology, 1, 276–288. 10.1037/cpp0000031

16.

Kerr

M. P.

Mensah

Besag

de Toffol

Ettinger

Kanemoto

. . . International League of Epilepsy (ILAE) Commission on the Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Epilepsy . (2011). International consensus clinical practice statements for the treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions associated with epilepsy. Epilepsia, 52, 2133–2138.

17.

Modi

A. C.

Guilfoyle

S. M.

Rausch

(2013). Preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an innovative adherence intervention for children with newly diagnosed epilepsy. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 38, 605–616. 10.1093/jpepsy/jst021

18.

Modi

A. C.

Guilfoyle

S. M.

Wagner

J. L.

(in press). Epilepsy. In Roberts

& Steele

(Eds.), Handbook of pediatric epilepsy (6th ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

19.

Modi

A. C.

Monahan

Daniels

Glauser

T. A.

(2010). Development and validation of the Pediatric Epilepsy Medication Self-Management Questionnaire. Epilepsy & Behavior, 18, 94–99. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.03.009

20.

Modi

A. C.

Rausch

J. R.

Glauser

T. A.

(2011). Patterns of nonadherence to antiepileptic drug therapy in children with newly diagnosed epilepsy. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 305, 1669–1676. 10.1001/jama.2011.506

21.

Morita

D. A.

Glauser

T. A.

Modi

A. C.

(2012). Development and validation of the Pediatric Epilepsy Side Effects Questionnaire. Neurology, 79, 1252–1258. 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182635b87

22.

Palermo

T. M.

Janicke

D. M.

McQuaid

E. L.

Mullins

L. L.

Robins

P. M.

Y. P.

(2014). Recommendations for training in pediatric psychology: Defining core competencies across training levels. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 39, 965–984. 10.1093/jpepsy/jsu015

23.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). H.R. 3590. (2010).

24.

Rodenburg

Meijer

A. M.

Deković

Aldenkamp

A. P.

(2005). Family factors and psychopathology in children with epilepsy: A literature review. Epilepsy & Behavior, 6, 488–503. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2005.03.006

25.

Russ

S. A.

Larson

Halfon

(2012). A national profile of childhood epilepsy and seizure disorder. Pediatrics, 129, 256–264. 10.1542/peds.2010-1371

26.

Smith

Wagner

J. L.

Edwards

J. C.

(2015a). Epilepsy update, Part 1: Refining our understanding of a complex disease. The American Journal of Nursing, 115, 40–47. 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000465030.89975.e8

27.

Smith

Wagner

J. L.

Edwards

J. C.

(2015b). Epilepsy update, Part 2: Nursing care and evidence-based treatment. The American Journal of Nursing, 115, 34–44. 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000466314.46508.00

28.

Varni

J. W.

Seid

Kurtin

P. S.

(2001). PedsQL 4.0: Reliability and validity of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0 generic core scales in healthy and patient populations. Medical Care, 39, 800–812. 10.1097/00005650-200108000-00006

29.

Wagner

Levinsohn

Onofer

Fletcher

Zupanc

Ucheba

Browne

(2013). Project Access: Strategies to improve care for children and youth with epilepsy: illustrations of recommendations in the IOM report on the epilepsies. Epilepsy & Behavior: E&B, 29, 121–127. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.06.036

30.

Wagner

J. L.

Modi

Smith

(2011). Commentary: Pediatric epilepsy: A good fit for pediatric psychologists. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 36, 461–465. 10.1093/jpepsy/jsq109

31.

Wagner

J. L.

Smith

Ferguson

P. L.

Fedele

D. A.

(2013). Preliminary psychometrics of the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy-Youth. Journal of Child Neurology, 28, 1392–1399. 10.1177/0883073813483367

32.

Wagner

J. L.

Smith

Ferguson

van Bakergem

Hrisko

(2010). Pilot study of an integrated cognitive-behavioral and self-management intervention for youth with epilepsy and caregivers: Coping Openly and Personally with Epilepsy (COPE). Epilepsy & Behavior, 18, 280–285. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.04.019

33.

Wagner

J. L.

Smith

Wilson

Selassie

(2015). Neurodevelopmental and mental health comorbidities in children and adolescents with epilepsy and migraine: A response to identified research gaps. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 57, 45–52. 10.1111/dmcn.12555