Refractory Anxiety

Treatment-Refractory Anxiety (TRA): Understanding and Management Student Name Institution Professor Name Course Date Treatment-Refractory Anxiety (TRA): Understanding and Management Patients who are reluctant to respond to anxiety treatment are always a bottleneck in psychiatric practice and, therefore, have to be dealt with by Psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs). This paper describes what is meant by treatment-resistant anxiety, along with its interrelated conditions, possible treatment approaches, and what to do with the clients who try other methods to address anxiety. Definition of Treatment-Refractory Anxiety This kind of anxiety is also referred to as pharmacotherapy-refractory anxiety or treatment-resistant anxiety, meaning that anxiety disorders are not sensitive to these various conventional procedures. As described by Roy-Byrne (2015), this condition takes place when the patients experience only little relief of the symptoms associated with depression even after the administration of the first-line treatments comprising selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The traditional approaches to managing these disorders are frequently insufficient in removing the signs of the disease that create increased misery and disability in patients. Common Comorbidities of Treatment-Refractory Anxiety Depression and substance use disorders are some of the most frequent conditions that normally accompany treatment-resistant anxiety. Bokma et al. (2019) note that most people struggling with depression also have anxiety, which aggravates the condition and, consequently, its management. These two mental issues are commonly known to be related, and the existence of one aggravates the other and, therefore, requires treatment (Bokma et al., 2019). Self-medication is typical for substance use disorders to appear, and people attempt to treat anxiety with substances. They are alcohol, benzodiazepines, and cannabis, which lead to dependency to reinforce complicated treatment (Bokma et al., 2019). It is, therefore, appropriate to diagnose and treat these other disorders so that one can give adequate treatment to treatment-resistant anxiety. Possible Treatment Approaches When encountering clients with treatment-resistant anxiety, two main approaches could be employed by the PMHNPs. The ...