This session provides a focused, case-based review of sedative-hypnotic use disorders and their management across clinical settings, including key concepts in pharmacology, diagnosis, and patterns of use and misuse, aligned with the ACAAM National Addiction Medicine Didactic Curriculum and ABPM content areas.
What This Covers • Pharmacology of sedative-hypnotic agents, including benzodiazepines, Z-drugs, and other sedatives • Patterns of use, misuse, and identification of high-risk patients • Recognition and management of sedative intoxication and withdrawal • Risk stratification and identification of severe withdrawal syndromes • Practical approaches to detoxification and withdrawal management • Medication selection and tapering strategies across inpatient and outpatient settings • Clinical decision-making for safe and effective management of sedative-hypnotic use disorders • Integration of care across treatment settings to improve patient outcomes
How This Resource Is Used This session is designed for on-demand learning and targeted content review. It can be used to reinforce specific knowledge areas or as part of structured board preparation.
Elizabeth F. Howell, MD MS
Dr. Howell is Professor of Psychiatry (Clinical) at the University of Utah School of Medicine and serves as Training Director for the Addiction Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine fellowship programs. She provides care at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and University of Utah Hospital and is board certified in Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine.
In addition to her clinical and educational roles, she is Principal Investigator for a NIDA Clinical Trials Network project on opioid use disorder and serves as an attending physician on the inpatient Addiction Consult Service.
Tiffany Love, PhD
Dr. Love is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Utah with expertise in psychiatric neuroimaging and the neurobiology of stress, reward, and addiction. Her work focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying pain, motivation, and substance use disorders.
She conducts patient‑oriented translational research using advanced neuroimaging techniques to study how brain reward systems are affected by chronic drug use and psychiatric conditions.
To support a meaningful learning experience and recognize your participation:
Access PeriodAccess available through November 30, 2027 (aligned with the addiction medicine board exam cycle).
Recording Release CycleACAAM releases updated recorded sessions each July based on the prior academic year’s didactic series. These recordings are available for a limited time and are retired on June 30 of the following year as new content is released.