A Conversation w/ Asli Anik: People’s Experiences Healing from Prescribed Benzodiazepines

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Guest Bio:
Dr. Asli Anik is a Counselling Psychologist living in the UK who has been working as a psychological therapist in the National Health Service for 6 years. Her recently completed doctoral research, which was supervised by Professor John Read, explores people’s experiences of healing from prescribed benzodiazepine dependence, what they found helpful during this process, and their views on what future services in the UK should look like.

RELEVANT LINKS:
Dr. Anik’s doctoral research: https://repository.uel.ac.uk/download...

The name of the task force that Nicole (host) couldn't remember during the interview is: The International Task Force on Benzodiazepines
https://karger.com/pps/article-pdf/87...

Guidance for Psychological Therapists: Enabling conversations with clients taking or
withdrawing from prescribed psychiatric drugs
Guidance: https://prescribeddrug.info/
Resources & Coping Tools:
https://prescribeddrug.info/guidance-...

Lived Experience Advisory Panel for Prescribed Drug Dependence
Main website: https://leap4pdd.org/
Resources page: https://leap4pdd.org/resources-for-in...

There is still one helpline available (the Bristol Tranquilliser Project helpline that is still
mentioned in some of the resources has sadly shut down):

Postscript360 (formerly Battle Against Tranquillisers)
https://www.postscript360.org.uk/
Telephone helpline supporting anyone in England and Wales regarding benzodiazepines, z
drugs, gabapentinoids, and painkillers
0117 966 3629
Open 10am to 4pm weekdays

General Medical Council: Who to complain to – information for patients in England
https://www.gmc-uk.org/-
/media/documents/DC6512_Who_to_complain_to___England.pdf_57957369.pdf

Benzodiazepine litigation and successful compensation claims:
https://benzo.org.uk/legal/index.htm

Counselling Psychologist Diane Hammersley’s thesis: An Exploration of How Therapists
View Therapeutic Process in Relation to Clients who are Taking Benzodiazepines
https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/epri...
A.pdf

Diane Hammersley is also the author of Counselling People on Prescribed Drugs
(https://www.amazon.co.uk/Counselling-...
Practice/dp/0803988877), published in 1995, and worked on The Withdraw Project from
1986, which offered psychological therapy for people wanting to withdraw from
benzodiazepines.

Public Health England (2019) report: Dependence and withdrawal associated with some
prescribed medicines: an evidence review. [This is the report showing that that 26% of adults
in England, that’s 1 in 4, are prescribed dependence forming drugs.]
https://assets.publishing.service.gov...
/file/829777/PHE_PMR_report.pdf

The action plan for the report above: NHS England (2023). Optimising personalised care
for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms:
Framework for action for integrated care boards (ICBs) and primary care.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/...
medicines-associated-with-dependence-or-withdrawal-symptoms/

The government has a moral duty to help those harmed by prescribed dependence
forming drugs
https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p...

The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines: Antidepressants, Benzodiazepines,
Gabapentinoids and Z-drugs (The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines Series):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maudsley-Dep...
Benzodiazepines-
ebook/dp/B0CRMV5S71/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=