There are two questions that use two separate resources. Question 1 Physicians commonly prescribe benzodiazepines to patients suffering from anxiety, panic disorder, and phobias. When discontinuing

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There are two questions that use two separate resources. 

Question 1

Physicians commonly prescribe benzodiazepines to patients suffering from anxiety, panic disorder, and phobias. When discontinuing these medications, it is not uncommon for a patient to experience low-dose withdrawal symptoms that mimic the symptoms of the disorder for which they began taking the medication, reinforcing the patient’s perceived necessity to continue using the drug.

The text discusses treatment protocol including gradual dose reduction and counseling to cope with the initial disorder as well as withdrawal symptoms. If you were a counselor working with a person discontinuing their benzodiazepine use, how would you support and educate them through this process?

Reference: Text: Hancock, Stephanie, and William McKim (2018) Drugs and Behavior: An Introduction toBehavioral Pharmacology 8th ed., Pearson. ISBN-13: 978-0-134-40502-5. ISBN-10: 0-134-40502-1.

Question 2

Chapter 2 of the text describes the social and historical contexts of substance use in our society, and the Stauffer et al. article and Glidden-Tracey article introduce several terms used when assessing substance use. Additionally, the DSM 5 differentiates among severity levels of substance use compared to the old diagnoses of abuse/dependence.  Currently, you need to be able to be familiar with these terms describing substance use as well as the assessment process.  What are the differences among abuse, dependence, mild/moderate/severe use, harmful/hazardous use and social use as you see it, and what do you think the implications are for treatment? Do you think clients can socially use one substance and be dependent on or abuse another?  What is your evidence for your opinion?Additionally, you learned a little about the changes to the diagnostic criteria for substance addictions that are included in the DSM 5 (now DSM-5-TR).  How do you see these changes impacting the way you conceptualize addictions as a future counselor?  What challenges do you see with the changes, and what benefits do you see resulting from these changes?  What impact will these changes have on our clients?

Reference:

 Text: Mack, A.H., Brady, K. T., Miller, S.I., & Frances, R. J. (2016). Clinical Textbookof Addictive Disorders (4th ed.). Guilford Press: New York