©
Shutterstock
Led by researchers from the Oxford Precision Psychiatry Lab at the University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry and supported by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (OH BRC), the study brought together international experts in neurology, psychiatry, and people with lived experience to identify key challenges and propose practical solutions for improving mental health outcomes in epilepsy. The paper was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
By bringing together a group of experts to agree on the best approach, the team reviewed current evidence and engaged in multidisciplinary discussions to define priorities for clinical practice and research. They found that despite epilepsy affecting around 50 million people worldwide, psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, psychosis, and suicidality remain under-recognised and undertreated. Current epilepsy care still focuses primarily on seizure control, while many patients’ quality of life is shaped by broader psychological and social factors.
The group calls for a shift from a seizure-centric to a patient-centred model of care, advocating for routine mental health screening, stronger collaboration between neurologists and psychiatrists, and improved access to psychiatric services. They also recommend expanding neuropsychiatry services, embedding lived-experience involvement in service design, and developing decision-support tools (including artificial intelligence-based screening) to help clinicians identify patients most in need of integrated support.
Read the full story on the Department of Psychiatry website.