Working with clients taking or withdrawing from prescribed psychiatric drugs – 2.5 hours CPD (October 2021)
In this event hosted by the BPS we discussed the issue of increasing numbers of prescriptions of psychiatric drugs, including benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and stimulants. While these drugs may help some people in the short term, there is growing evidence that many patients report persistent withdrawal and other negative effects. The event focused particularly on antidepressants and implications for therapeutic practice. The event is based on the “Guidance for Psychological Therapists – Enabling conversations with clients taking or withdrawing from prescribed psychiatric drugs”.
The speakers included Professor John Read, Professor Joanna Moncrieff, Dr Mark Horowitz and Dr Anne Guy – a recording of the event can be found here.
A short guide to what every psychological therapist should know about working with psychiatric drugs – 3 hours CPD (November 2020)
With psychiatric prescriptions doubling over the last ten years, therapists are now more likely than ever to be working with clients who are taking or withdrawing from prescribed drugs. How well did your training cover the effects of psychiatric drugs on therapy? What is your role as a therapist working with issues of prescribed drug dependence? How confident do you feel in addressing these issues in your client work – would you like to learn more?
These free presentations (3 hours CPD) by the main editors of the Guidance for Psychological Therapists are based on the companion publication “A short guide to what every psychological therapist should know about working with psychiatric drugs”. They will give you the information you need to work more confidently with clients and gives answers to many questions about working with prescribed psychiatric drugs in therapy. The presentations, which are each followed by a Q&A session are:
Dr James Davies: Context and background for Prescribed Drug Dependence in the UK
Professor Rosemary Rizq: A short guide to beginning work with clients taking prescribed psychiatric drugs
Dr Anne Guy: A short guide to working with clients thinking about or already withdrawing from psychiatric drugs
The presentations and Q&A sessions were originally recorded for an online event in November 2020 co-hosted by BACP, UKCP, BPS and the APPG for Prescribed Drug Dependence.