AboutJacqui Expertise I am committed to Harm reduction (is it a dirty word in America??), a philosophy which acknowledges that people are going to continue to use drugs despite all of the effort put into stopping it (case in point - US government drug war ... trillions of dollars, people still using ... hello??) Anyway, I advocate to support people who use drugs by reducing the harms associated with their use through needle and syringe programs, advocating for drug law reform (alcohol legal, marijuana not ... go figure?). I currently manage a service that provides primary health care, health education and needle and syringe program to people who inject. I have also worked as an "on the ground" worker for many years and am currently studying a Masters in Clinical Psychology. Happy to answer questions about blood borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis C, questions about dependency on opiates and other substances. Questions about treatment (particulary methadone and buprenorphine). Questions about harm reduction and why we bother with it. I can try to answer questions about drug tests. As an alternative to my fellow experts, I won't be judging anyone. If anyone has taken a sip of a coffee, or drunk a beer, then ... well we are all drug users, and I don't think we are going to see an end to it! Deal with the real, I say.
Experience Manage a primary health service for people who inject drugs, and have worked at that centre for 7 years
Organizations Registered as a provisional psychologist with the Victorian Psychologists registration board (this is for psychologists working under supervision or currently studying a masters). Much of my experience is related to my work rather than to my studies
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts (Humanities), Bachelor of Psychology with Honours,
currently studying a masters of clinical psychology, completed one half of a graduate certificate in Addiction studies (transferred to psychology as it had better career prospects) - lots and lots of short training courses.
Awards and Honors Presented at international conferences (Harm Reduction Conference in Thailand and Melbourne)
Question My son got addicted to methadone on the street - has never even tried heroin. He began going to a methadone clinic earlier this year to get it under control but requested inhouse treatment to get off of it completely. He is currently detoxing from methadone at an inhouse clinic. When he entered on 47 days ago he was at 140 mg and is down to 50 mg as of last week. He also began having panic attacks about a month before he entered treatment and was prescribed Ativan and Valium. So he is currently taking all three medications. The treatment center is telling him that they will not decrease his methadone any further - i believe because he is taking the other meds for the panic disorder. any suggestions ... is there another med he should be taking for the panic disorder? he prefers to get off the methadone first and then try to stop the other meds. what are your suggestions? i to at least be able to suggest something ...
Answer Hi C,
You have probably asked the wrong person about taking medication for panic disorder. As a trainee clinical psychologist I would recommend that he engage in psychotherapy for the panic disorder. I do worry about the over use of benzos (valium, etc) because they are addictive and when people get a tolerance to them, the side effects are ... guess what ... increased anxiety! So, they are much better as short term treatment option.
I am interested whether he suffered from panic disorder before the methadone dependency. If not, then I would wonder about the diagnosis and if it is perhaps more related to methadone withdrawal. I understand that he wants to come off the methadone, and this isn't impossible, but I would strongly suggest some kind of supportive (non drug) therapy as well.
