Ashton manual benzodiazepine tapers
If you’ve been on a benzodiazepine for years, especially at higher doses, tapering can feel impossible. Keystone Psychiatry offers structured tapering built on Ashton manual principles — slow, symptom-guided dose reductions with close follow-up. We’re one of only four programs of its kind in Pennsylvania.
Never stop or cut back a benzodiazepine on your own
Stopping abruptly, or reducing too quickly, can cause serious withdrawal — including seizures — and can be life-threatening. Do not change your dose without a prescriber. If you’re currently tapering on your own and feeling unwell, call us at 570-818-2853.
The Ashton Manual is a patient education resource, not a self-treatment plan. Tapering safely takes medical supervision and a schedule built for you.
How the program works
The goal is to reduce risk, improve tolerability, and keep you functional while steadily working toward discontinuation.
Slow reductions
Dose comes down gradually rather than in large steps, which is what makes a long-term taper tolerable.
Symptom guided
The pace follows how you’re actually doing. If a step is too hard, we hold there before going further.
Close follow-up
Regular visits throughout, so adjustments happen when you need them rather than at the next annual appointment.
What your plan is built around
This isn’t a one-size-fits-all schedule. Your plan is individualized based on all of the following.
Your medication
Different benzodiazepines behave differently during a taper.
Your dose
Where you’re starting from shapes the size of each reduction.
Duration of use
Years on a medication call for a different pace than months.
Medical history
Other conditions and medications factor into what’s safe.
Prior taper attempts
What went wrong before tells us a lot about what to do differently.
Current stress load
What else is happening in your life affects when to start and how fast to move.
Coming off successfully is possible
Keystone Psychiatry has helped many patients come off benzodiazepines after years of use.
About the Ashton Manual
Written by Professor C. Heather Ashton, DM, FRCP, of Newcastle University, based on her work in a benzodiazepine withdrawal clinic. It remains the most widely used reference on how these medications work and how to come off them.
Schedule an evaluation
We’ll review your medication, dose, and history, and talk through what a taper would realistically look like for you.