Despite the high prevalence and disabling nature of nonepileptic attacks (NEAs) and other types of functional
neurological symptoms (FNSs), treatment trials are few. Preliminary evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches, and CBT-based group therapies have the potential to improve costeffectiveness
and deliverability of treatment. This pilot study was undertaken to evaluate whether CBT-based
group therapy would offer a feasible treatment option for patients with NEAs and other FNSs. We evaluated
the outcomes of an information andmanagement interventionwithin a neuropsychiatry service,which included
weekly CBT-based group therapy sessions for patients with NEAs and other FNSs. Outcomes pertaining to quality
of life and physical and emotional well-being were measured using the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-
36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale. Datawere
collected from16 patients, ofwhom10 presentedwith NEAs. Significant improvementswere selectively reported
in the ‘emotionalwell-being’ (p= 0.04) and ‘role limitation due to emotional well-being’ (p= 0.04) subscores of
the SF-36. Improvements in overall quality-of-life scores (p= 0.22), as well as in HADS anxiety (p = 0.34) and
depression (p = 0.46) scores, did not reach statistical significance. These trends were supported by a positive
mean CGI improvement scale score of 2.4, indicating minimal-to-considerable improvement. Group therapy interventionwith
a CBT-based approach is a feasible treatment option in themanagement of NEAs and other FNSs, as
shown by significant improvements in emotional domains of quality of life in this low power pilot study.