Amy Sullivan, PysD: Team-Based Approach to MS

"When we look at mental health over the course of the MS person’s disease, I think it’s important to recognize that the mental health can be both a symptom to the MS as well as a reaction to the disease process."

A number of sessions and presentations at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), May 28-June 1, in Seattle, Washington, focused on approaching the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Utilizing this team-based plan allows for the care of the patient to be more holistic, and thus can help better address the so-labeled “invisible symptoms” of MS, such as mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.

Amy B. Sullivan, PsyD, ABPP, director of Behavioral Medicine, Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research at the Cleveland Clinic, is one of the physicians who appreciate this approach. When she, a behavioral medicine expert, is able to work hand-in-hand with an MS neurologist, she told NeurologyLive^® that it allows her to treat not only the patient but the entire family, as she said she recognizes that MS presents a more complex situation than some other conditions.

At CMSC, Sullivan sat with NeurologyLive^® to discuss how team-based care has improved the lives of patients at Cleveland Clinic, and she offered some advice to the practicing neurologist who may not have an institution’s level of resources.

For more coverage of CMSC 2019, click here.