AANN and PAME Webinar: Seeing the Whole Patient: Suicide, Screening, and Mental Health in Epilepsy-AANN and PAME Webinar

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The AANN and PAMI webinar, “Seeing the Whole Patient: Suicide Screening in Mental Health and Epilepsy,” brought together a family advocate and epilepsy-care professionals to discuss suicide risk, screening, and support for people with epilepsy.<br /><br />Kelly Sweeney-Woodman shared the story of her son, Rees, who developed depression and suicidal thoughts while being treated for epilepsy and died by suicide at 17. In his memory, she advocated for routine depression screening at his neurology clinic. The clinic adopted the PHQ-9, illustrating how advocacy can lead to changes in care. Kelly urged providers to normalize conversations about mental health and screen consistently.<br /><br />The clinical presentations emphasized the close, two-way relationship between epilepsy and psychiatric conditions. Depression and anxiety are common, and people with epilepsy face elevated suicide risk. Speakers discussed screening tools including the PHQ-9, NDDI-E, ASQ, and Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, noting that tools should be paired with attentive follow-up rather than treated as checklists. Trust, rapport, direct but compassionate questions, and clear referral pathways are essential.<br /><br />The panel also addressed medication changes, inpatient and outpatient screening, adolescent mental health, and ways to support patients who are reluctant to seek therapy. Participants recommended sharing warning signs and resources with families, inviting patients and caregivers to contact clinicians when something feels wrong, and considering screening between appointments or during medication titration.<br /><br />The webinar closed with a call for standardized, routine screening across care settings and continued collaboration to improve early identification and support.

Keywords

epilepsy

suicide screening

mental health

depression

suicide risk

PHQ-9

NDDI-E

Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale

family advocacy

routine screening