CARE Series: Team Treatment of Co-occurring Anxiety and Substance Use Disorders

Sunday, August 10, 2025, 12:00 PM - Thursday, August 10, 2028, 1:00 PM

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (1.00 hours), ANCC Nursing Contact Hours (1.00 hours), CME-Designated Participation Credit (1.00 hours)

George Vana, MD reviews:

• Strategies for assessment of anxiety co-occurring with SUDs: cognitive, behavioral, and somatic symptoms

• Simultaneous psychosocial treatment of anxiety and SUDs: roles of interdisciplinary care team members

George Vana, MD answers livestream attendee questions and facilitates case-based discussion of:

• Team roles in managing ongoing anxiety symptoms for patients not currently using non-prescribed substances

• Team roles in managing anxiety symptoms along with current non-prescribed substance use

Presenter

George Vana, MD
Medical Director:
Pathways Vermont
Vermont Center for Resiliency
Bridges Neurodiversity Clinic

George ‘Bud’ Vana, MD, is a general pediatrician, adult psychiatrist, and child psychiatrist. He is the medical director at Pathways Vermont with offices across the state as well as the Vermont Center for Resiliency in Chittenden County. He also operates the Bridges Neurodiversity Clinic in Burlington and answers phones for the Vermont Child and Consult Psychiatry Access Program. Dr. Bud is a graduate of Harvard University, and he completed medical school at the University of Vermont and his residency training at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He has worked to develop a telehealth infrastructure at the Lummi Tribal Health Center, as well as a child psychiatry consultation service for other tribal health clinics. His other professional interests include family-based psychiatry, acceptance and commitment therapy, treatment of co- occurring disorders, treatment of developmental disabilities, and integrated medical and behavioral healthcare. Outside of work Bud enjoys canoeing, hiking, and curling with his family.

1. Discuss anxiety and anxiety disorder, including two symptoms of anxiety described within the DSM5.
2. Describe two ecological causes of anxiety in individuals who have substance use disorders.
3. Name one anxiety assessment tool used in the context of substance use disorders and one corresponding medication or behavioral treatment option.

In support of improving patient care, Dartmouth Health 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. 

American Medical Association (AMA)
Dartmouth Health designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
Dartmouth Health designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 1.00 ANCC contact hours. 

All other learners may claim CME-designated participation credit. Consult your professional licensing board regarding the applicability and acceptance of CME-designated participation credit for programs certified for credit by organizations accredited by Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Education.

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Bibliographic Material

• American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

• Asselman E and Beesdo-Baum K. Predictors of the Course of Anxiety Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2015; 17:7.

• Avery, J. D., & Barnhill, J. W. (2018). Co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders: A guide to diagnosis and treatment. American Psychiatric Association Publishing.

• Butler AC et al. The empirical status of cognitive-behavioral therapy: a review of meta-analyses. Clinical Psych Review. 2006: 17-31.

• Franklin M, et al. Cognitive behavior therapy augmentation of pharmacotherapy in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: the Pediatric OCD Treatment Study II (POTS II) randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2011 Sep 21;306(11):1224-32

• Garcia A, et al. Predictors and moderators of treatment outcome in the Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Treatment Study (POTS I). J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Oct;49(10):1024-33.

• LeDoux, J. E., & Pine, D. S. (2016). Using Neuroscience to Help Understand Fear and Anxiety: A Two-System Framework. The American journal of psychiatry, 173(11), 1083–1093. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16030353 

• Luoma, J. B., Hayes, S. C., & Walser, R. D. (2007). Learning act: An acceptance & commitment therapy skills-training manual for therapists. New Harbinger Publications.

• Truong, T. T., Li, B. T., Shorter, D., Moukaddam, N., & Kosten, T. R. (2024). Pharmacotherapy for complex substance use disorders: A practical guide. American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
  
  

Provider Contact Information
Provider contact information for questions regarding accreditation of the activity:

Center for Learning and Professional Development
ACE Office
Dartmouth Health
[email protected]

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

Dartmouth Health adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.  Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including planners, faculty, authors, or others are required to disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies^.  All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.

^Ineligible Company is any entity whose primary business purpose is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.