About the film
Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, Ativan – all belong to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines (benzos). News and entertainment media portray them in terms of addiction and abuse or as innocuous medications that relax nerves.
As Prescribed documents a strikingly different narrative, following eye-opening stories of invisible illness and disability. Boston-based survivor Geraldine Burns leads a grassroots army of “good patients” that help other victims and advocate tirelessly for benzodiazepine harm awareness. But resistance is strong. Geraldine and her cohorts are opposed by powerful forces that include pharmaceutical giants and a medical culture that has denied the problem for decades.
About the speakers
Holly Hardman
Holly Hardman (Director/Producer) began her career in media as a researcher for PBS, Twentieth Century Fox, Lorimar, and Rolling Stone. Hardman’s first documentary feature, Good People Go to Hell, Saved People Go to Heaven (IDFA 2012) explored American Rapture along a hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. After a perilous experience with a benzodiazepine, Hardman began production onthedocumentary feature, As Prescribed. The film had its international premiere at Sheffield DocFest in 2022 and is now available widely on Apple+, Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Google Play, and Kanopy.
Geraldine Burns
Geraldine Burns has been a pioneer in helping to get the word out about the potential dangers of benzodiazepines. In 1999 she started the first Internet support group for people wishing to withdraw from tranquilizers or already off and having problems. She is dedicated to the responsible and informed use of this class of prescription drugs. Burns was instrumental in having Professor C. Heather Ashton, Professor Emeritus, Newcastle University, write her manual “Benzodiazepines: How They Work and How to Withdraw,” also known as The Ashton Manual.
Burns' advocacy work, including her role in the introduction of informed-consent legislation in Massachusetts, is covered in the documentary “As Prescribed”. Burns and her attorney son Garrett, launched the podcast “Benzodiazepine Awareness with Geraldine Burns” in 2018. It is available on YouTube.
Dr Alison Fixsen
Dr Alison Fixsen is a Senior Lecturer Psychology at the University of Westminster, London. Alison has authored many journal articles and book chapters relating to mental health, including on benzodiazepine dependency, based on personal experience. Since 2018, Alison has been a member of a research panel for BELSPO (Belgian Federal Science Policy Office).
Dr Valsa Madhava
Dr. Valsa Madhava, MD, MPH, MS, is a Board-Certified Internist, Addiction Medicine Specialist, and Functional Medicine practitioner. She earned her medical degree from Albany Medical College, completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and holds advanced degrees, including a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s in Clinical Research Methods from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is also certified in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine.
Dr. Madhava operates two functional medicine-based private practices: BrainBodyMedical and The Benzo Taper Doctor. Additionally, she works at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in the Behavioral Health Services division, where she provides care for individuals with substance use disorders. Dr. Madhava also holds an adjunct faculty appointment at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
