Photo of Anita Sassaman, PMHNP, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Anita Sassaman
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, PMHNP
Verified Verified
3 Endorsed
Seattle, WA 98121  (Online Only)
Anita has more than 8 yrs experience as psychiatric nurse practitioner, and experience as telepsych provider for more than 4 yrs. Her experiences include outpatient, inpatient, military, and civilian; works with children and adult populations.
Anita has more than 8 yrs experience as psychiatric nurse practitioner, and experience as telepsych provider for more than 4 yrs. Her experiences include outpatient, inpatient, military, and civilian; works with children and adult populations.
(206) 309-0870 View (206) 309-0870
Photo of Maycelin Ramos, DNP, PMHNP, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Maycelin Ramos
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, DNP, PMHNP
Verified Verified
Seattle, WA 98121  (Online Only)
I am a doctoral-prepared licensed Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I have a strong background in acute, subacute and chronic mental health disorders stemming from at least 10 years of inpatient psychiatric and mental health care experience. Though I am certified to work with all ages, I believe that I especially excel in working with adult individuals who are particularly having difficulty from various mood disorders and anxiety disorders along with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
I am a doctoral-prepared licensed Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I have a strong background in acute, subacute and chronic mental health disorders stemming from at least 10 years of inpatient psychiatric and mental health care experience. Though I am certified to work with all ages, I believe that I especially excel in working with adult individuals who are particularly having difficulty from various mood disorders and anxiety disorders along with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
(206) 279-0941 View (206) 279-0941
Alcohol Use Psychiatrists

Are there specific medications for alcohol use?

There are oral medications approved to treat alcohol use disorder—such as disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone, which also comes in an injectable form. These medications do help people reduce their drinking as well as avoid the problem of relapse. Naltrexone helps reduce cravings, disulfiram can make a person feel sick when they drink, and acamprosate may help ease symptoms like poor sleep and anxious feelings.

How do alcohol recovery or rehabilitation programs work?

In inpatient programs, individuals live in a facility with other patients in recovery; in outpatient programs,individuals live at home. These facilities are staffed with healthcare professionals including physicians, nurses, psychologists, counselors, and psychotherapists. Staff can also include people who have recovered themselves, serving as mentors and guides. These programs may use abstinence, harm reduction, detoxification, psychotherapy, and other tools for recovery.

How do 12-step programs combined with psychotherapy work?

Members of 12-step programs help each other reach abstinence and work to maintain it. These programs promote complete change in the individual’s emotional, mental, physical, and even spiritual perspectives. Some programs require that new members attend 90 meetings in 90 days. Many people do attend these programs in conjunction with their work in psychotherapy; the combination of therapy along with 12-step can be extremely effective.

How does harm reduction combined with psychotherapy work?

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, harm reduction prevents death, injury, disease, overdose, and substance misuse. People who choose harm reduction for alcohol use reduce the amount of alcohol they intake. It is not abstinence-based like a 12-step program, but combining harm reduction with psychotherapy proves to be effective for many people.