HHS moves to develop guidance for getting patients off antidepressants
The Department of Health and Human Services, under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is advancing an effort to help Americans come off psychiatric medications through “deprescribing” — the supervised tapering of drugs a patient no longer needs. Earlier in July, dozens of mental health professionals met with federal officials to begin building clinical guidance for prescribers, reviewing European deprescribing frameworks and non-drug options such as therapy.
Participants flagged research gaps specific to SSRIs, including how withdrawal effects vary by drug and length of use, and how to distinguish withdrawal symptoms from a relapse of the underlying condition. Deprescribing is an established clinical practice, but making it a federal priority for antidepressants is notable given Kennedy’s public skepticism of psychiatric drugs. The clinical stakes turn on execution: stopping SSRIs abruptly or without support can cause significant withdrawal, so guidance that standardizes safe tapering could help patients, while messaging that discourages appropriate treatment could harm them.