Taking Control of Your Seizures Workbook

The primary aim of Taking Control of Your Seizures: Workbook is to improve the lives of patients with seizures. Both epileptic seizures and nonepileptic seizures (NES) are prevalent and potentially disabling. The Workbook is designed to be used by a patient with seizures in conjunction with his or her counselor. The Workbook contains step-by-step guidelines that enable patients to take control of their seizures and their lives. The companion Treating Nonepileptic Seizures: Therapist Guide enhances effectiveness by providing session-by-session instructions for counselors who use the Workbook with patients with NES. The authors developed this treatment approach based on extensive clinical experience and research with epilepsy and NES. Many patients who have completed the Taking Control process experience fewer seizures, reduced symptoms, and a greater sense of well-being.

Joel M. Reiter, MD, is Associate Clinical Professor and Director of Neurology Training, Emeritus, at UCSF - Santa Rosa Family Practice Residency. He conducted a private practice in Neurology for 35 years, devoting clinical and research time to investigating behavioral interventions that improve seizure control and quality of life for individuals with epilepsy. He is boarded in Neurology and received degrees from Harvard, NYU, and UCSF. In 1981, he and Dr. Donna Andrews founded the Andrews/Reiter Epilepsy Research Program. He subsequently published Epilepsy: A New Approach and other pioneering work; lectured internationally on neurobehavioral management of epilepsy; and served as the sole neurologist in Bhutan.

Donna Andrews, PhD, is Director of Therapy Research at the Andrews/Reiter Epilepsy Research Program. At age 18, she contracted viral encephalitis followed by complex partial seizures refractory to multiple antiepileptic medications. She had a unique insight that enabled her to achieve complete seizure control. She utilized this experience to develop treatment methods that allowed her to work effectively with thousands of patients. She and Dr. Reiter researched these methods and describe them in Taking Control of Your Seizures: Workbook. Dr. Andrews has a Master's in Rehabilitation Administration from the University of San Francisco; a Ph.D. in psychology from the SFPSP; and travels the globe to lecture and treat patients.

Charlotte Reiter, FNP, earned her B.S. in Nursing and Family Nurse Practitioner certification from SSU where she was the first nursing graduate to be chosen as a commencement speaker. She brought skills honed developing patient education materials for UCSF's Family Practice residency program to writing and editing Taking Control of Your Epilepsy: A Workbook for Patients and Professionals. As a College FNP at Santa Rosa Junior College, she coordinated with the Enabling department to provide services for students with epilepsy and developmental disabilities. She edits publications for the Andrews/Reiter Epilepsy Research Program and writes/edits for the Tarayana Foundation, a Bhutanese nonprofit.

W. Curt LaFrance, Jr., MD, MPH, is Director of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology at Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Alpert Medical School, Brown University. He is the neuropsychiatrist for the RIH Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and a faculty member of the Brown Institute for Brain Science. He studied at Wake Forest University (BA in psychology), Medical College of Georgia (MD), and Brown University (MPH). He trained in Brown's combined residency in neurology and psychiatry and is double boarded. His research is in neuropsychiatric aspects of epilepsy, somatoform disorders, and Traumatic Brain Injury. He is co-editor of Gates and Rowan's Nonepileptic Seizures.