Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) associated with healthcare reductions in patients with functional seizures

Malda-Castillo, Javier and Howell, Bethany and Russell, Leo and Abbass, Allan and Perez Algorta, Guillermo and Valavanis, Sophie (2023) Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) associated with healthcare reductions in patients with functional seizures. Epilepsy and Behavior, 141: 109147. ISSN 1525-5050

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Abstract

Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy (ISTDP) has demonstrated promising evidence for the treatment of Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) including functional seizures. This paper aimed to further examine the therapeutic effects of a 3-session course of this treatment focusing on its potential to maintain reduced healthcare utility within a group of patients with complex difficulties, across an extended time period, post-therapy. The original study followed a mixed methods case series design and recruited 18 patients from secondary adult mental health care and specialist neurology services. Seventeen participants completed the intervention and attendance rates were very high (95%). In this follow-up study, which was solely focused on the utilization of healthcare resources, results showed decreases when comparing 12 months prior and 12 months post three sessions of ISTDP. The results provide further support for the use of ISTDP in this group of participants with complex clinical presentations, specifically, its capacity to reduce healthcare usage over 12 months post-therapy. Further evidence from controlled and randomized studies with larger sample sizes is warranted.