Shane Kenny on BENZODIAZEPINES...THE MEDICAL DISASTER
July 27, 2021
Hosted by Dr. Patricia Halligan
[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]
Guest Information
Episode Description
Interview with Shane Kenny, Irish broadcaster, journalist and creator of the 2016 acclaimed documentary, “BENZODIAZEPINES: THE MEDICAL DISASTER,” which skillfully exposes the harmful effects of long-term benzodiazepine prescriptions. Mr. Kenny describes his own agonizing 13 year struggle to recover from benzodiazepine-induced injury to his Central Nervous System, including a failed taper in 2009 and a successful taper in 2010. He recounts his in-person interviews with Dr. Malcolm Lader and Dr. Heather Ashton, two famous psychiatrists who devoted most of their medical careers to speaking out against the doctor-induced problem of benzodiazepine overprescribing. Mr. Kenny expresses his outrage that their concerns and repeated requests for judicious prescribing and research proposals into the long term effects of benzodiazepines have been ignored by the medical community and the FDA for decades. Both believed in discontinuation of benzos after only 2-4 weeks of use. Mr. Kenny shares his thoughts and feelings surrounding the FDA’s most recent change in their Black Box Warning for Benzodiazepines and offers his own suggestions for future changes. He is fierce and passionate as he advocates for millions of people world-wide whose lives have been ruined by taking long term benzodiazepines as prescribed.
RECOVERY…THE HERO’S JOURNEY
Archives Available on VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel
RECOVERY: THE HERO’S JOURNEY provides best practice information and support to people struggling with Substance Use Disorders/Process Addictions and Prescription Drug Dependence. We confront the stigma surrounding Opioid Use Disorder and Benzodiazepine Dependence, understanding that both are the direct result of an overprescribing epidemic. We discuss Buprenorphine, a first line, long term treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. We validate people struggling with Benzodiazepine Dependence (ie-Xanax/Klonopin), and offer resources and a recovery plan.
Experts explore Eating Disorders, Sex Addiction, PTSD, and the effects of today’s Cannabis on teens and young adults, offering guidance and resources to individuals struggling with these issues and their families. This podcast gracefully combines interviews with experts in the field and patient stories of recovery and redemption. The show is about connection, reclaiming personal integrity and hope.
Dr. Patricia Halligan
Dr. Patricia Halligan is an Addiction Psychiatrist, who specializes in the treatment of patients diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders, Prescription Drug Dependency and Process Addictions. She completed a residency in Psychiatry at Cornell-The New York Hospital, followed by a Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1998. Dr. Halligan is double board certified in General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry and is a trained CSAT (Certified Sex Addiction Therapist). Believing in the healing power of connection, she trained at the Center for Group Studies in NYC and runs modern analytic group therapy for people in recovery.
Dr. Halligan has been prescribing Buprenorphine in her private practice since 2003 and continues to be a strong advocate for patients with Opioid Use Disorder throughout the Opioid Epidemic. She has spent the last two decades in the trenches of two tragic epidemics caused by the overprescribing of both Opioids and Benzodiazepines.
Aware that the lack of addiction training in medicine has largely contributed to both epidemics, she has resolved to devote some time to teaching. She creates CME accredited addiction education videos and training workshops for health care providers. Dr. Halligan decided to create this show to support people who are taking the hero’s journey into recovery and their families. You’ll hear interviews with experts surrounding best practices, and embrace the elimination of stigma.
