Psychological therapy
1. List specific treatment goals for L.P.
The key treatment goals for L.P is to reduce the general frequency, duration and intensity of her anxiety to allow her to continue with daily functioning and work. The client should also learn to implement different coping skills that would reduce her worry and level of anxiety. Anxiety disorders should be treated with psychological therapy, pharmacotherapy, or a combination of both. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be regarded as the psychotherapy with the highest level of evidence (Gautam et al., 2017).
2. What drug therapy would you prescribe? Why?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the drug of choice for the management of generalized anxiety. The medications recommended for the condition include escitalopram, fluoxetine and paroxetine (Gautam et al., 2017). These have central activity and will have a faster onset of action compared to other drug choices. They also have lesser side effects. Other treatment options include pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants, buspirone, moclobemide, and others.
3. What are the parameters for monitoring the success of the therapy?
The frequency of the worry periods and feelings of uneasiness will be recorded through the course of the treatment. Further, her ability to sleep and perform at work will also be included in the parameters to monitory therapy effectiveness. Patients should receive “psychoeducation” about their diagnosis, the possible etiology, and the mechanisms of action of the available treatment approaches. Before considering a patient to be treatment unresponsive, it should be ascertained that the diagnosis was correct, adherence to the treatment plan was sufficient, the dose prescribed had covered the full range, and there had been a trial period of adequate duration (Driot et al., 2017).
4. Describe specific patient monitoring based on the prescribed therapy.
At the baseline level, and the weekly for the first four weeks of therapy, the patient will have to be monitored for suicidal behavior and thoughts. SSRIs are associated with the potential for increased depression and suicidal tendencies (Driot et al., 2017). L.P will also have to be monitored for serotonin syndrome dystonia and increased predisposition to bleeding. SSRIs are associated with side effects such as indigestion, diarrhea and dizziness. These lead to weight loss and feelings of nausea.
5. List one or two adverse reactions for the selected agent that would cause you to change therapy.
Extreme side effects that might necessitate medication change include excessive weight loss that does not resolve with the continued use of the medication. Further, the induction of suicidal thoughts is a premise for medication discontinuation. Although there may be concern about tachyphylaxis, there is limited evidence of adverse outcomes with the chronic use of SSRIs or SNRIs. These medications also tend to be well-tolerated, with usually manageable or short-lived adverse effects such as nausea, headache, dry mouth, diarrhea, or constipation. Sexual dysfunction tends to be a more durable and problematic adverse effect of SSRIs and SNRIs but can be managed with adjunctive treatments. There is the possibility of patients developing antidepressant-induced jitteriness or anxiety, potentially due to initial surge of serotonin, although this anxiety can be mitigated by slower titration or adjunctive use of benzodiazepines (Bandelow, 2017).
6. What would be the choice for second-line therapy?
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) have reasonable efficacy data in anxiety disorders but are usually reserved for second-line treatment due to safety and tolerability issues. The benzodiazepines play an important role in the treatment of some anxiety disorders; however, these agents too are usually reserved for second-line or adjunctive use due to tolerability and abuse liability issues. Buspirone is considered second-line medication for the management of the anxiety. The medication can be used on an ongoing basis. Buspirone, a 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1A (5HT1A) agonist, has been shown in some controlled studies to be effective in the treatment of GAD. However, not all studies have shown superiority to placebo and/or equivalence to standard drugs. Also, the medication may take up to several weeks for its effect to be felt (Bandelow, 2017).
References
1-Driot, D., Bismuth, M., Maurel, A., Soulie-Albouy, J., Birebent, J., Oustric, S., & Dupouy, J. (2017). Management of first depression or generalized anxiety disorder episode in adults in primary care: a systematic metareview. La Presse Médicale, 46(12), 1124-1138.
2-Gautam, S., Jain, A., Gautam, M., Vahia, V. N., & Gautam, A. (2017). Clinical practice guidelines for the management of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PD). Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 59(Suppl 1), S67.
3-Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D. Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues Clin
