Individualized concierge telemedicine for benzodiazepine tapering, psychiatric medication deprescribing, and opioid and alcohol dependence treatment, from your home anywhere in Florida.
Osteopathic physician · Practicing since 1997 · Medical advisory board, Benzodiazepine Information Coalition · Telemedicine across Florida
This is your time with Dr. Leeds.
No group therapy, no shared facilities, no exposure to other patients.
Contact Dr. Leeds directly between appointments. No answering service.
Gradual tapering, not addiction treatment approaches.
Ongoing medical treatment is available to patients in Florida.
Dr. Leeds specializes in benzodiazepine tapering, psychiatric medication deprescribing, and the medical treatment of prescribed medication dependence through his concierge telemedicine practice. With a deep understanding of the distinction between physical dependence and addiction, Dr. Leeds provides individualized care that places each patient at the center of all treatment decisions. Dr. Leeds counsels and coaches as part of medical care, and all protocols follow the Ashton Manual, Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines, The Sinclair Method, and other evidence-based approaches.
Medical support for safe, gradual discontinuation of benzodiazepines and z-drugs (Ambien, Lunesta) following evidence-based protocols. Dr. Leeds is experienced with benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND), protracted withdrawal, and acute withdrawal syndromes. Protocols include hyperbolic tapers, liquid tapers, crossover tapering strategies, and individualized schedules designed around your body's healing timeline.
Specialized care for patients experiencing dependence on psychiatric medications, antidepressants, and other prescribed substances, with emphasis on gradual, patient-controlled tapering protocols. As a psychiatric drug tapering specialist in Fort Lauderdale, Dr. Leeds understands the complex neurological effects of long-term psychiatric medication use and provides medically-supervised slow hyperbolic tapers that honor your body's healing process.
Evidence-based treatment using buprenorphine products including Suboxone and its generics, with specialized protocols for fentanyl transitions and individualized dosing strategies that respect patient goals for either maintenance or gradual tapering. Treatment can begin at home, with phone support during induction, and adjunct medications are chosen around each patient's pattern of use and personal goals. For many patients, concierge treatment is the ideal solution: you get to live at home and continue with your daily life while receiving expert medical care in-office or by telemedicine.
Alcohol use disorder treatment using The Sinclair Method with naltrexone for pharmacological extinction of alcohol cravings. This approach allows gradual reduction in drinking without requiring abstinence as a starting point, and is supported by years of clinical evidence and patient outcomes. Food addiction and dependency issues are also addressed when they are part of a patient's broader pattern of care.
The Ashton Manual, developed by Professor C. Heather Ashton, is considered the gold standard for benzodiazepine tapering worldwide. Dr. Leeds follows this protocol as a foundation for creating individualized benzodiazepine tapering plans in Fort Lauderdale. The Ashton protocol emphasizes slow, gradual dose reductions that allow the nervous system to adapt at each step, minimizing withdrawal symptoms and supporting long-term success.
Key elements of the Ashton Manual taper approach used in our Fort Lauderdale practice include:
Dr. Leeds is on the medical advisory board for the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition and has extensive clinical experience guiding patients through their benzodiazepine taper. Whether you’re tapering from Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), or Valium (diazepam), our Fort Lauderdale practice provides the specialized medical oversight your taper requires.
Tapering psychiatric medications requires specialized medical knowledge that goes beyond what most physicians receive in standard training. As a psychiatric drug tapering specialist in Fort Lauderdale, Dr. Leeds provides medically-supervised withdrawal support for patients who want to safely discontinue antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs), antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and other psychiatric medications.
Many patients experience significant psychiatric drug withdrawal symptoms when attempting to stop these medications, including brain zaps, emotional instability, insomnia, and cognitive difficulties. Our approach to tapering psychiatric medications in Fort Lauderdale includes:
Many patients with prescribed medication dependence have experienced dismissal, inappropriate rapid tapers, or misapplication of addiction treatment models. Dr. Leeds’ practice was built to change that.
You are the expert in your own experience and the ultimate authority on your path toward healing. Treatment decisions are collaborative, with you maintaining control over the pace and process of your care.
Physical dependence on prescribed medications is a medical condition requiring gradual tapering, not traditional addiction treatment paradigms that can cause harm. Dr. Leeds recognizes this critical distinction in every treatment plan.
Direct communication with your physician when you need support, without administrative barriers or delays. Concierge care means you're never dealing with automated phone trees or waiting for callbacks.
Every protocol is grounded in peer-reviewed research and established clinical guidelines including the Ashton Manual and Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines. Medication-assisted recovery is offered on its own terms, not as a second-tier option to abstinence-only programs, and no one-size-fits-all approach is forced on any patient.
“Much respect to Dr. Leeds who help me through my benzo taper. He was always available to answer my text and truly cared about how I was doing physically and emotionally. You are deeply appreciated.”
“Before I found him, I wasted huge amount of money on doctors who misrepresented themselves as being capable to handle the unique taper type of a service I needed… Dr Leeds LEADS you safely in the direction you need with clinical excellence, enormous knowledge, experience… While under his care, I felt truly safe, fully supported from both clinical and a human perspective. He is a rare find.”
“Working with Dr Leeds has not only helped me through my taper process especially when I was so sick, which has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life… I wouldn’t hesitate in contacting Dr Leeds if you are looking for a very compassionate physician who truly cares and keeps his patients safe.”
“Never in my life have I met such an open minded, caring, listening, and knowledgable Dr. for what he does. He is gentle, and takes his time in a way I thought was completely gone from todays medical world… 6/5 stars for the staff Megan and Daisy always answering and being incredible as well.”
Use the contact form to schedule your initial consultation.
A one-hour meeting with Dr. Leeds, by video or audio, to go over your history, current medications and goals, and to talk through your options.
Receive a customized treatment protocol designed around your unique situation, preferences, and pace. You maintain control over every decision.
Direct access to Dr. Leeds throughout your treatment. Adjustments made as your body heals and your needs evolve over time.
Osteopathic Physician • Deprescribing Specialist
Mark Leeds, D.O. is an osteopathic physician practicing since 1997 who treats medication and drug dependence and addiction. He graduated from Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1996 and completed his residency in Family Medicine at Westchester General Hospital in 1999. He is accepting new patients.
Dr. Leeds has extensive clinical experience with difficult benzodiazepine tapering cases, protracted withdrawal, and BIND (Benzodiazepine-Induced Neurological Dysfunction). His concierge telemedicine practice in Fort Lauderdale specializes in benzodiazepine and psychiatric medication tapering, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, gabapentinoids, and z-drugs, as well as opioid dependence treatment and alcohol use disorder. His practice serves patients who have been underserved by traditional healthcare models: people physically dependent on prescribed medications who need a physician who understands that dependence is not addiction.
Dr. Leeds holds a distinctive clinical perspective: that tapering is the optimal approach for any drug that causes physical dependence, when an established tapering protocol exists. Drawing from the Ashton Manual, Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines, The Sinclair Method, and other evidence-based protocols, this unified tapering philosophy informs every treatment plan. Physical dependence on prescribed medications is a medical condition requiring gradual, patient-directed tapering, not addiction treatment paradigms.
Dr. Leeds serves on the medical advisory board of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition and hosts The Rehab Podcast on the Mental Health News Radio Network, where he interviews experts including physicians, best-selling authors, and filmmakers working in the addiction, recovery, and deprescribing space. His approach prioritizes patient comfort, safety, and autonomy, with treatment often extending over several months depending on the medication and history of use.
“Physical dependence on prescribed medications is a medical condition requiring specialized knowledge, patience, and respect for neurological healing processes.”
Dr. Leeds provides concierge deprescribing and dependence treatment from his office at 3290 NE 33rd Street in Fort Lauderdale, and by telemedicine to patients anywhere in Florida.
Most patients are seen by video. In-office visits are available for those in Broward County and nearby, including Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Weston, and Miami. Wherever you are in the state, the care is the same: a physician who specializes in tapering and treats dependence as a medical condition.
Schedule a video consultation from the comfort of your home. Dr. Leeds is accepting new patients for telemedicine visits throughout Florida.
3290 NE 33rd St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 Phone hours Monday to Friday, 10 am to 2 pm
Key Takeaways Benzodiazepine withdrawal, including protracted withdrawal, is formally recognized in the 2020 FDA benzodiazepine label update. When a doctor dismisses withdrawal, the cause is
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Benzodiazepine tapering is a gradual, medically guided reduction of the dose, paced so that withdrawal symptoms stay tolerable while the nervous system adapts. Through his concierge telemedicine practice in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Dr. Mark Leeds provides personalized taper plans, close medical monitoring, and flexible one-on-one support tailored to each patient’s symptoms, goals, and progress.
In Fort Lauderdale, FL, Dr. Leeds follows the Ashton Manual to support patients through acute and protracted withdrawal with a slow, carefully structured taper designed to reduce symptom intensity and improve stability. This approach uses individualized adjustments, close monitoring, and ongoing education to help patients move through withdrawal more safely and with consistent medical support.
Dr. Leeds specializes in Benzodiazepine Tapering in Fort Lauderdale, FL by creating personalized tapering plans tailored to each patient’s needs, using evidence-based strategies, and providing close ongoing monitoring throughout the process. His patient-directed approach puts safety and comfort first at every stage of the taper.
Patients who have used benzodiazepines long-term and are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, dependence concerns, or difficulty stopping safely may be strong candidates for an Ashton Manual protocol-based tapering program. In our Fort Lauderdale practice, each person is carefully evaluated based on their medical history, current symptoms, and recovery goals to determine whether this structured, gradual tapering approach is the right fit for a safer and more manageable discontinuation process.