Dr Grunewald's interest in medically unexplained symptoms arose from his experience running an epilepsy clinic, where he saw patients with non-epileptic seizures and a movement disorder clinic where he observed non-organic movement disorders. He also participated in the development of NICE guidelines on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME). Frustrated by the absence of a clear model of pathophysiology and treatment for these conditions, he began to see patients with functional symptoms in a specialised clinic at the Royal Hallamshire Hosptal, and developed a neurology psychotherapy service to help treat them. Talking to many hundreds of individuals with non-epileptic seizures and functional neurological symptoms has enabled him to develop a model to explain the phenomena which has important implications as regards management of these common conditions.
