Treatment for Benzodiazepine Dependence
Personalized Programs to Taper Off Benzodiazepines
We Provide Services in San Francsico
The patients we treat with benzodiazepine tapers live locally in the San Francisco Bay Area, because appropriate treatment requires frequent in-person visits.
We are not able to work with people who reside outside of California at this time.
Are You or a Loved One Dependent on Benzodazepines?
Benzodiazepines are one of the most insidious and pervasive classes of prescription drugs currently available. These include:
Mechanism Underlying Benzodiazepine Dependence
Many people come to be dependent on benzodiazpeines because a doctor prescribed and recommended them for anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, or another condition. Alas, the use of benzodiazepines often creates a new and distinct problem of psychological and physiological dependence. The phenomenon of benzodiazepine dependency is often poorly communicated by the prescribing physician, who may not be aware of the harms caused by this class of medication.
Only a minority of people suffering from a problem with benzodiazepines got into the situation via recreational or compulsive use. Thus we use the terminology "benzodiazepine dependence" or "benzodiazepine use disorder" to reflect that many people are not using benzos in an "addictive" fashion, yet cannot easily stop. But we can treat actual addiction as well.
When people try to stop using or wean off benzodiazepines, they often suffer from a variety of difficulties which may include:
- Recurrent and persistent anxiety
- Severe insomnia
- Panic attacks
- Neurologic symptoms
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- Difficulty concentrating
- Mood instability
- Restlessness
- Click here for a more complete list of benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms
Sometimes the original prescriber will recommend a quick taper which causes severe symptoms. Attempts to self-taper the medication are also often unsuccessful. Many wonder if persistent symptoms are their original anxiety problem coming back, or if they have now created an entirely new problem. Often the original prescriber isn't much help with the tapering process.
We have deep expertise and many years of experience guiding our patients out of the benzodiazepine trap.
Integrative Benzodiazepine Treatment at Home
We offer a comprehensive and intensive outpatient treatment program based on thorough medical care and pharmacology. Our treatment plans can include a combination of
- Medical diagnosis, testing and treatment
- Customized psychopharmacology
- Individual and group psychotherapy
- Integrative and functional medicine
- Medical nutrition therapy
- Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Self tracking and individualized experiments
We can mobilize any necessary resources based on an individual’s unique needs after our comprehensive initial evaluation. We’re experts at keeping people independent and “outpatient” who may otherwise be facing going to a facility, inpatient rehab or other institutional setting.
Slow Benzo Tapers and the Ashton Method
Co-Occurring Addictions and Other Challenges
We are also experts at treating people suffering from dependency on multiple substances, such as opiates and benzodiazepines; benzodiazepines and stimulants; and even opiates, benzodiazepines and stimulants. Alcohol and cannabis use are also frequently co-occurring.
Often there may also be underlying mood disorders, chronic pain conditions, and cognitive or attention problems, that make tapering off benzodiazepines particularly difficult.
Individuals with co-occurring dependencies and underlying medical or psychological problems, are most likely to benefit from our multi-modal team treatment approach.
