WEEK 5: Anxiolytics and Anti-Anxiety

Students will:

• Assess patient factors and history to develop personalized plans of anxiolytic and anti-anxiety therapy for patients
• Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in patients requiring anxiolytic and anti-anxiety therapy
• Synthesize knowledge of providing care to patients presenting with anxiolytic and anti-anxiety therapy
• Analyze ethical, legal, and social implications related to prescribing anxiolytic therapy to patients across the lifespan
• Assess psychopharmacologic approaches to treatment for patients across the lifespan
• Examine sleep disorders, neurotransmitter networks and treatment of sleep disorders

Learning Resources/Readings

• Goldin, D. S. (2023). Fast facts for psychopharmacology for nurse practitioners. Springer Publishing.
  • Chapter 6, “Anxiolytics and Anti-Anxiety Medications“  (pp. 85–110)
  • Chapter 11, “Sleep Disorders” (pp. 228–247)
• Stahl, S. M. (2021). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (5th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  • Chapter 8, “Anxiety Trauma and Treatment” (pp. 359–378)
  • Chapter 10, “Disorders of Sleep and Wakefulness and Their Treatment: Neurotransmitter Networks for Histamine and Orexin” (pp. 401–448)
• Community Behavioral Health. (2019, February). Clinical guidelines for tapering benzodiazepines. https://cbhphilly.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Helping-Patients-Taper-from-Benzodiazepines-FINAL-3.pdf
• National Center for PTSD. (2013). Effective treatments for PTSD: Helping patients taper from benzodiazepines. https://www.va.gov/painmanagement/docs/OSI_6_Toolkit_Taper_Benzodiazepines_Clinicians.pdf
• Ogbonna, C. I. & Lembke, A. (2017). Tapering patients off of benzodiazepines. American Family Physician, 96(9), 606–608. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2017/1101/p606.html
• Drugs.com. (2023). https://www.drugs.com
• Note: Please use the following resource to check the most up-to-date box warnings, FDA approvals and indications, recommendations for follow-up evaluations, changes, etc.

• Anxiolytic Medication Table
  Note: Utilize the following medication table to familiarize yourself with the medications aligned with the topics presented this week.

*Indicates off-label use

Note: Also review SSRI/SNRI and TCA tables from previous weeks.