Assignment 1:
Application: Considering Alternative Treatment Options for Anxiety Disorders
Imagine that you have been seeing a client for 4 months. During treatment, you learn that he has been 5 years sober but lately has felt an intense sense of anxiety and has requested a referral to a psychiatrist. Upon returning to his counseling sessions, you learn that the psychiatrist has prescribed diazepam, a benzodiazepine. You are aware of the fact that the benzodiazepine functions similarly to alcohol in the body. You are concerned about a relapse because of this newly prescribed medication for the anxiety disorder.
Sometimes the medication a doctor chooses to treat a client’s symptoms is ineffective or inappropriate, or it may not create the desired effect without intolerable side effects. Under what circumstances does it become necessary for a mental health professional to advocate for an alternative treatment for a client? What ethical issues associated with client treatment would mental health professionals need to address? Why would a release of information be needed?
 
For this Assignment, view the media case study titled “Anxiety Disorder Case Study: Mary
.
” Assume the role of a mental health professional to respond to the client call. Review the medication that the psychiatrist prescribed and explain the expected effects and side effects of its use. Plan a treatment strategy.
In a 2- to 3-page, APA-formatted paper, include the following:
o
  
An explanation of any concerns, ethical or otherwise, you may have regarding the client’s generalized anxiety disorder treatment
o
  
An explanation of the factors you would take into consideration in developing a strategy to treat the client’s generalized anxiety disorder
o
  
An explanation of a treatment strategy for the client’s generalized anxiety disorder along with a justification for your strategy
o
  
An explanation of how you would advocate for your treatment strategy
 
References (use 3 or more)
 
Laureate Education (Producer). (2012b). 
Anxiety disorder case study: Mary: Generalized anxiety disorder
[Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
 
Caputo, F., & Bernardi, M. (2010). Medications acting on the GABA system in the treatment of alcoholic patients.
 
Current Pharmaceutical Design
,
 
16
(19), 2118–2125.
 
Lichtblau, L. (2011).
 
Psychopharmacology demystified
. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, Cengage Learning.
 
Preston, J. D., O’Neal, J. H., & Talaga, M. C. (2017). 
Handbook of clinical psychopharmacology for therapists
 (8th ed.)
.
 Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
 
American Psychiatric Association (2013).
 
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
 
(5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
 
American Psychiatric Association. (2013).
 
Highlights of changes from DSM IV-TR to DSM-5
. Retrieved from
 
http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/changes%20from%20dsm-iv-tr%20to%20dsm-5.pdf