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Home » Week 6: Therapy for Patients With Anxiety Disorders and PTSD Treatment

Week 6: Therapy for Patients With Anxiety Disorders and PTSD Treatment

    Week 6: Therapy for Patients With Anxiety Disorders and PTSD Treatment

    Week 6: Therapy for Patients With Anxiety Disorders and PTSD Treatment

    I’m no longer at the mercy of my PTSD, and I would not be here today had I not had the proper diagnosis and treatment. It’s never too late to seek help.

    —P.K. Philips, PTSD patient

    For individuals presenting with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders, everyday life can be a constant challenge. Clients requiring anxiolytic therapy may present with anxiousness, depression, substance abuse issues, and even physical symptoms related to cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal ailments. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you must be prepared to address the many needs of individuals seeking treatment for PTSD and other anxiety disorders.

    This week, as you study anxiolytic therapies and PTSD treatments, you examine the assessment and treatment of patients with PTSD and other anxiety disorders. You also explore ethical and legal implications of these therapies.

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    Reference:
    Philips, P. K. (n.d.). My story of survival: Battling PTSD. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/personal-stories/my-story-survival-battling-ptsd

    Learning Objectives

    Students will:

    Assess patient factors and history to develop personalized plans of anxiolytic therapy for patients
    Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in patients requiring anxiolytic therapy
    Synthesize knowledge of providing care to patients presenting with anxiolytic therapy
    Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing anxiolytic therapy to patients across the lifespan
    Assess psychopharmacologic approaches to treatment for patients across the lifespan

    Learning Resources

    Required Readings

    Bui, E., Pollack, M. H., Kinrys, G., Delong, H., Vasconcelos e Sá, D., & Simon, N. M. (2016). The pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders. In T. A. Stern, M. Favo, T. E. Wilens, & J. F. Rosenbaum. (Eds.), Massachusetts General Hospital psychopharmacology and neurotherapeutics (pp. 61–71). Elsevier.
    American Psychiatric Association. (2010a). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. https://psychiatryonline.org/pb/assets/raw/sitewide/practice_guidelines/guidelines/acutestressdisorderptsd.pdf
    American Psychiatric Association. (2010c). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with panic disorder (2nd ed.). https://psychiatryonline.org/pb/assets/raw/sitewide/practice_guidelines/guidelines/panicdisorder.pdf
    Bendek, D. M., Friedman, M. J., Zatzick, D., & Ursano, R. J. (n.d.). Guideline watch (March 2009): Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. https://psychiatryonline.org/pb/assets/raw/sitewide/practice_guidelines/guidelines/acutestressdisorderptsd-watch.pdf
    Cohen, J. A. (2010). Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(4), 414–430. https://jaacap.org/action/showPdf?pii=S0890-8567%2810%2900082-1
    Davidson, J. (2016). Pharmacotherapy of post-traumatic stress disorder: Going beyond the guidelines. British Journal of Psychiatry, 2(6), e16–e18. 10.1192/bjpo.bp.116.003707. http://bjpo.rcpsych.org/content/2/6/e16
    Hamilton, M. (1959). Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). PsycTESTS. https://doi.org/10.1037/t02824-0
    Ostacher, M. J., & Cifu, A. S. (2019). Management of posttraumatic stress disorder. JAMA, 321(2), 200–201. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.19290
    Strawn, J. R., Wehry, A. M., DelBello, M. P., Rynn, M. A., & Strakowski. S. (2012). Establishing the neurobiologic basis of treatment in children and adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 29(4), 328–339. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.21913

    Medication Resources

    IBM Corporation. (2020). IBM Micromedex.https://www.micromedexsolutions.com/micromedex2/librarian/deeplinkaccess?source=deepLink&institution=SZMC%5ESZMC%5ET43537

    Note: To access the following medications, use the IBM Micromedex resource. Type the name of each medication in the keyword search bar. Be sure to read all sections on the left navigation bar related to each medication’s result page as this information will be helpful for your review in preparation for your Assignments.Week 6: Therapy for Patients With Anxiety Disorders and PTSD Treatment

    Review the following medications:

    benzodiazepines
    citalopram
    desvenlafaxine
    duloxetine
    escitalopram
    fluoxetine
    paroxetine

    sertraline
    venlafaxine
    vilazodone
    vortioxetine
    propranolol
    prazosin

    Required Media

    Case Study: A Middle-aged Caucasian Man with Anxiety

    Note: This case study will serve as the foundation for this week’s Assignment.

    Assignment: Assessing and Treating Patients With Anxiety Disorders

    Common symptoms of anxiety disorders include chest pains, shortness of breath, and other physical symptoms that may be mistaken for a heart attack or other physical ailment. These manifestations often prompt patients to seek care from their primary care providers or emergency departments. Once it is determined that there is no organic basis for these symptoms, patients are typically referred to a psychiatric mental health practitioner for anxiolytic therapy. For this Assignment, as you examine the patient case study in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat patients presenting with anxiety disorders.

    To prepare for this Assignment:

    Review this week’s Learning Resources, including the Medication Resources indicated for this week.
    Reflect on the psychopharmacologic treatments you might recommend for the assessment and treatment of patients requiring anxiolytic therapy.
    The Assignment: 5 pages

    Examine Case Study: A Middle-Aged Caucasian Man With Anxiety. You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this patient. Be sure to consider factors that might impact the patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes.

    At each decision point, you should evaluate all options before selecting your decision and moving throughout the exercise. Before you make your decision, make sure that you have researched each option and that you evaluate the decision that you will select. Be sure to research each option using the primary literature.

    Introduction to the case (1 page)

    Briefly explain and summarize the case for this Assignment. Be sure to include the specific patient factors that may impact your decision making when prescribing medication for this patient.

    Decision #1 (1 page)

    Which decision did you select?
    Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
    Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
    What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
    Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

    Decision #2 (1 page)

    Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
    Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
    What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
    Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

    Decision #3 (1 page)

    Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
    Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
    What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
    Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

    Conclusion (1 page)

    Summarize your recommendations on the treatment options you selected for this patient. Be sure to justify your recommendations and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

    Note: Support your rationale with a minimum of five academic resources. While you may use the course text to support your rationale, it will not count toward the resource requirement. You should be utilizing the primary and secondary literature.

    Reminder : The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general#s-lg-box-20293632). All papers submitted must use this formatting. Week 6: Therapy for Patients With Anxiety Disorders and PTSD Treatment

    By Day 7

    Submit your Assignment.

    Submission and Grading Information

    To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

    Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK6Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
    Click the Week 6 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
    Click the Week 6 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
    Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK6Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
    If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
    Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

    Grading Criteria

    To access your rubric:

    Week 6 Assignment Rubric

    Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

    To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:

    Submit your Week 6 Assignment draft and review the originality report.

    Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 6

    To participate in this Assignment:

    Week 6 Assignment
    NURS 4430 Module 2

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