[Panic attacks simulated by occipital lobe seizures]

Eleven-year-old Stephanie was admitted to a child and adolescent psychiatry day hospital with symptoms of an anxiety and panic disorder, and compulsive and self-harmful behavior. The patient described detailed threatening scenic sequences that caused her to feel panicky. They symptoms could be classified as epilepsy with visually dominated seizures of the occipital lobe. In addition to pharmacological treatment with oxcabazepine, extensive multimodal interventions as part of the child and adolescent psychiatric day hospital treatment program helped all family members to understand and handle the seizures. Eight weeks after initiation of treatment, Stephanie was seizure-free. Complex partial epilepsy can be mistaken for primary child-psychiatric disorder.