Benzodiazepine Tapering Decisions: Basic Principles through Complex Management Course
Recorded: Thursday, April 23, 2026 On-Demand Course
Overview
This is an interactive, case-based course designed for healthcare providers who work with patients taking benzodiazepines. Through expert guidance, peer discussions, reflection, and collaborative learning, participants will explore evidence-based and patient-centered approaches to decisions around tapering. This course focuses on enhancing patient engagement and readiness, managing complex withdrawal, and addressing unique clinical needs and co-occurring conditions.
The target audience for this session includes physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, social workers, certified counselors, psychologists, addiction educators and researchers, and students.
This session addresses the following ACGME Competencies: Patient-centered Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-based Learning and Improvement, and Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Learning Objectives
Assess the current evidence on long-term benzodiazepine use and weigh the risks and benefits of tapering based on each patient’s unique clinical needs, such as age, duration of use, chronic pain, pregnancy, and co-occurring conditions
Implement patient-centered communication strategies, including motivational interviewing and harm-reduction approaches, to enhance readiness, strengthen the therapeutic alliance, and promote safety and collaboration throughout the tapering process.
Apply evidence-based approaches to manage withdrawal in different treatment settings, mitigate taper-related risks, and address complex scenarios such as benzodiazepine use disorder, protracted withdrawal, and non-prescribed benzodiazepine use.
Develop tapering plans that integrate management of co-occurring substance use and psychiatric conditions to ensure safe, effective, and comprehensive care during benzodiazepine tapering.
Registration Rates
ASAM Learner Type
Rate
ASAM Member
$149
Non-Member
$199
Associate Member
$99
Resident Member*
$99
Student Member*
$99
*Residents, Fellows-in-training, Interns, and Students must join ASAM to receive a discounted registration rate.Click here to become an ASAM member. National and Chapter membership dues apply. There is no charge for Students to become a Member, but verification of student status is required.
Membership Question? Call ASAM at 1.301.656.3920, email us, or view the ASAM website for more information.
Refunds & Cancellations
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Automatic full refunds will be made for any course with a live-course component that has been cancelled.
Open Registration: 05/25/2026 - 04/25/2029
Close Access Date: 05/25/2029
Instructions
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Emily Brunner
MD
Dr. Emily Brunner is an addiction medicine physician currently practicing at Sage Prairie, an outpatient addiction medicine clinic in Eagan, Minnesota. Dr. Brunner received a B.S. in neuroscience at MIT, followed by attending the University of Michigan for medical school and family practice residency. She became board certified in addiction medicine in 2014 via the practice pathway, and worked at Hazelden Betty Ford foundation for 2 years in the outpatient setting, followed by working for several years in a community hospital setting which had an inpatient cd treatment program. Dr. Brunner enjoys teaching residents and med students, and has a strong passion for helping mentor primary care physicians in adding addiction medicine services to their practice. Dr. Brunner has also been involved in ASAM at multiple levels, including as treasurer and president of the Minnesota branch of ASAM, and will be starting a role as regional director for Region VI in 2021. She is also very interested in advocacy for patients, and helping to reduce stigma at the community level and eliminate barriers for treatment of addiction as a chronic disease.
No relevant financial disclosures
Chinyere Ogbonna
MD, MPH
Chinyere Ogbonna, MD, MPH received her medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine. She extended her medical school training in order to complete a Masters in Community Health Education from Temple University School of Public Health. She completed a combined family medicine and psychiatry residency at the University of Cincinnati/ The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. She continued her training with a fellowship in Addiction Medicine at Stanford Hospital & Clinics.
Dr. Ogbonna is board certified in Family Medicine, Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Ogbonna is an active speaker on screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT), with a specific focus on prevention and early intervention among adolescents and young adults. Her clinical focus also includes perinatal addiction, dual diagnoses, chronic pain, and increasing the integration of medicine and psychiatry in primary care.
Dr. Ogbonna currently is the Medical Director of Addiction Medicine & Recovery Services (AMRS) at Kaiser Permanente San Jose and Adjunct Faculty at Stanford Health. She continues to teach residents and fellows and collaborates with other medical providers to help improve patient access to addiction services.
No relevant financial disclosures
Donovan Maust
MD, MS
Donovan Maust, MD, MS, is a geriatric psychiatrist and health services researcher. He is the Willard C. Blackney Jr. and Geraldine LaTendresse Blackney Research Professor of Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School and is a Research Scientist with the VA Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research. A primary focus of his research is psychotropic prescribing to older adults in community and residential settings. His work also examines the influence of caregivers and clinicians on the care that older adults with mental health and cognitive disorders receive. To this end, he is currently co-leading the launch of the NIA-funded National Dementia Workforce Study (U54AG084520).
Funding from National Institute on Aging (U54AG084520, RF1AG082011, R01AG074957) Predictably Human (stock, consultant)
Stephen Holt, MD, MS, FACP, FASAM
Associate Professor of Medicine (General Medicine); Associate Program Director, Ambulatory Education
Yale School of Medicine
Dr. Holt has been an attending physician at Yale-New Haven Hospital since 2008 and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. He is the Director of the Yale Addiction Recovery Clinic and the Associate Program Director for Yale's Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program. He is board-certified in Addiction Medicine and Internal Medicine. He has published and lectures frequently on a variety of addiction medicine topics, and has won numerous teaching awards at the local, regional, and national level.
In support of improving patient care, the American Society of Addiction Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Credits Available
Physicians: 6 Credits
Nurses & NPs: 6 Nursing Contact Hours
Pharmacology Hours: 3.25 Hours
PAs: 6 Credits
Pharmacists: 6 Credits
Social Workers: 6 Credits
Interprofessional Continuing Education: 6 Credits
Certified Counselors: 6 NBCC Contact Hours
American Society of Addiction Medicine has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7062. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. American Society of Addiction Medicine is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
NAADAC: 6 CE Credits
Maintenance of Certification (MOC)/Continuing Certification Program (CCP)
This activity is designed to meet the requirements for MOC/CCP for several primary physician boards and for state licensing CME requirements. MOC Credit is only reported and designated for ABA, ABP, ABIM, and ABS. By completing the online credit application and evaluation, the learner permits ASAM to report credits to the appropriate Board. Learn more.
ABIM MOC Points: 6 Medical Knowledge | 6 Patient Safety
ABP MOC: 6 Lifelong Learning & Self-Assessment
ABS Continuing Certification: 6 Accredited CME
ABA MOCA 2.0®*: 6 Lifelong Learning | 6 Patient Safety MOCA 2.0® is a trademark of the American board of Anesthesiology®. This activity contributes to the CME requirement for Part II: Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment of the American board of Anesthesiology's (ABA) redesigned Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology Program® (MOCA®), known as MOCA 2.0®. Please consult the ABA website, https://www.theaba.org/, for a list of all MOCA 2.0 requirements.
Additionally, this activity has been designed to satisfy the requirements of the following primary physician board certification requirements. Please confirm with your individual Board.
American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM)
American Board of Preventative Medicine (ABPM)
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)
Certificates for other professions
All participants may request a certificate of participation upon completion of the activity and an online evaluation confirming their participation. Learners are strongly advised to contact their professional licensing board or professional association to confirm this certificate will be accepted as evidence supporting continuing education requirements.
California Association for Drug/Alcohol Educators (CAADE)
This educational program is approved by CAADE: #CP40 999 1225.
California Association of DUI Treatment Centers (CADTP)
This educational program is approved by CADTP: #205.
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP)
This educational program is approved by CCAPP: #OS-20-330-0227.
Disclosure Information
In accordance with the disclosure policies of ASAM and Joint Accreditation, the effort is made to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all accredited continuing education activities. These policies include identifying and mitigating all relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies for those involved in the creation and dissemination of accredited continuing education.
The complete list of disclosures and designation statements are linked below.
Up to 6.00 medical credits available | Certificate available
Up to 6.00 medical credits available | Certificate available
Attendees should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.
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