New research into tapering
People who have recovered from an anxiety disorder with the help of antidepressants often continue to take antidepressants for a long time for fear that the complaints will return. In three antidepressant taper groups in the Netherlands, it is being investigated whether tapping pills under professional supervision helps to reduce the chance of anxiety symptoms returning.
One in five Dutch people will have to deal with a Anxiety Disorder. Anxiety disorders can usually be treated well, but in the longer term the complaints can return, especially if the antidepressant medicines are reduced or stopped. For that reason, many people continue to use antidepressants for unnecessarily long and take the side effects for granted. This situation can sometimes continue for many years.
Research
Little research has been done into the prevention of relapse in anxiety disorders. For this reason, GGZinGeest and the psychiatry department of VUmc Amsterdam, together with the institutions GGZ Centraal (Ermelo) and Academic Angstcentrum Utrecht, have developed the MASTER research set up. That stands for Medication Weaning Anxiety Study TER Fall Prevention.
Joint reduction
The study investigates whether the joint reduction of antidepressants in a group leads to a lower chance of complaints returning. The study also looks at the results of people who do not taper their medication in groups but individually, together with a psychiatrist.
People who want to participate in the study can go to three specialized outpatient clinics for people with anxiety disorders, in Amsterdam, Ermelo and Utrecht. The eligible participants for the study are adults who have recovered from an anxiety disorder and are still taking medication for it.
fellow sufferers
The MASTER study has been running since the spring of 2010. Although it is still too early for scientific conclusions, according to psychotherapist and researcher at GGZ inGeest Willemijn Scholten it is already clear that the participants experience it as very pleasant that they are in a small group with fellow sufferers can work on tapering off their medicines.
withdrawal
“The participants take a step every two weeks in the reduction of antidepressants,” says Scholten. “Withdrawal symptoms can also occur, so that people can sometimes become anxious again. Those symptoms have to do with withdrawal and not with the return of the anxiety disorder.” The joint recognition of the symptoms and the support of the group and the supervisors make the participants feel safe and therefore remain motivated to get off the drugs, says Scholten.
Finishing groups
The reduction groups are supervised by a psychiatrist and a cognitive behavioral therapist. The therapy is aimed at recognizing anxious thoughts and learning to deal with them, so that they no longer pose a threat. The group training consists of eight two-weekly sessions of 2.5 hours. The participants carry out their own relapse prevention plan during the training period. Homework is also given.
After the training, the counselors will keep in touch for another year, to stay informed and for guidance if a relapse should occur. Because despite the supervised reduction of antidepressants, not everyone succeeds in preventing a return of the anxiety disorder.
