Counseling Services
The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Cincinnati employs staff who are educated, trained and qualified in assisting people with epilepsy and their families in the area of counseling. They can help you and your family understand and deal with epilepsy and can often help with practical matters, like finding and keeping employment or advice in obtaining insurance or medications. Currently, there are 3 Licensed Social Workers on staff; one is also a Licensed Professional Counselor.
The counseling services offered are broken down into 4 categories:
- Early Intervention Counseling--this counseling is aimed toward persons who are newly diagnosed with epilepsy and their families. The goal of this type of counseling is to promote positive self-concepts and attitudes and to resolve any anger issues towards this new diagnosis so that future psychological and social problems might be prevented.
- Supportive Counseling--this counseling is aimed at promoting a client's ability to maintain the social and economic structure of his or her existing life. It teaches coping skills, boosts self esteem, encourages self confidence and explores ways of handling frustrations, stress and issues that surround epilepsy in a proactive way.
- Therapeutic Counseling--this counseling is aimed at advancing the client toward a greater self-understanding to encourage him or her to strive for a new measure of responsibility in their life.
- Crisis Intervention Counseling--this counseling is aimed at resolving a client's immediate crisis (ex: out of medication) and restoring their ability to adequately cope and function independently. It often involves linking persons with epilepsy and their families with appropriate and effective community resources.