RFK Jr.’s antidepressant deprescribing campaign praised for awareness but flagged as unsafe without proper support

A clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University writes that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push to deprescribe antidepressants raises public attention but lacks the clinical infrastructure needed for safe implementation. The author stresses that deprescribing must involve gradual tapering, psychological support, careful risk assessment and readily available alternative treatments.

The article recounts a patient in her early 60s who had been on fluoxetine for more than three decades and later on bupropion. Under close supervision, her fluoxetine was reduced by 5 mg every three months with mood diaries and therapy visits, a process that took 18 months. After a waiting period, her bupropion was halved in dose over several months, during which a stress episode caused a spike in anxiety and blood‑sugar levels.

The author argues that while the initiative correctly highlights the need for alternatives to long‑term antidepressant use, it conflates genuine clinical need with unsupported claims and can be dangerous if applied at scale without the necessary safeguards. He calls for evidence‑based guidelines and accessible support systems before broader adoption.