US to take steps to curb antidepressant prescribing, RFK Jr says | Robert F Kennedy Jr

The federal health department will launch a series of steps aimed at curbing the use of antidepressants in the US, Robert F Kennedy Jr. announced this week.

Antidepressants, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, have long been a target of Kennedy, the Trump administration’s health secretary, who talked about the plans Monday at an event hosted by the Make America Healthy Again Institute, an organization focused on advancing the MAHA agenda. He claimed, without evidence, that the drug was linked to an increase in school shootings and expressed concerns about withdrawal from the drugs and withdrawal symptoms.

One Press release Regarding the plans, the Department of Health and Human Services said its goal is to “prevent psychiatric overprescribing” and encourage “prescribing when clinically indicated.”

During the event, Kennedy said he was aware of the role of psychiatric medications but that his department “will no longer treat them as the default medication, we will treat them as a single option to be used when appropriate, with full transparency and a clear path for when they are no longer needed.” New York Times report The summit focused on the “over-medicalization” of mental health.

“Let me be clear: If you’re on psychiatric medication, we’re not telling you to stop. We’re making sure you and your clinician have the information and support to make the right decision for you.”

A. Survey in 2025 About 17% of respondents in all 50 states were currently using antidepressants. The survey also found that “a significant share of adults in every U.S. state opposes efforts to restrict access to antidepressant prescriptions.”

In the department’s press release, Kennedy said the action plan aims to address the “overuse” of these drugs “especially among children.”

A. letter A report released Monday by top HHS officials to providers detailing a goal to reduce antidepressant use encourages the use of non-drug options to treat depression, including psychotherapy, diet, physical activity and social connection. The letter aimed to “highlight the importance of ensuring that treatment planning for mental health conditions includes meaningful access to evidence-based, non-pharmacological interventions.”

“When clinically indicated, such treatment should include careful assessment of the patient’s symptoms, reviewing the medication for effectiveness, and canceling the prescription when appropriate,” the letter says.

The department also provided guidance to mental health practitioners making it clear that they can be paid for prescribing-related medical care and sent out resources on how to manage the prescribing process.

The American Psychiatric Association, which has more than 40,000 physicians as members, he said in a statement He said he “welcomes the direct attention to the nation’s mental health crisis and is committed to developing solutions that improve access to high-quality evidence-based care.”

He supports the administration’s plans to invest in research on the issue and educate clinicians about prescribing and discontinuation, but he pushes back against framing the mental health crisis as a problem of overprescribing.

“This characterization oversimplifies a complex crisis and ignores a larger reality: Too many patients lack access to timely, comprehensive care, while care remains unevenly distributed throughout our healthcare system,” the association said, adding that this framework does not account for workforce shortages, limited beds for psychiatric care and barriers to accessing care.

“A statement alone is not an adequate response to this crisis,” he said in the statement. “In psychiatry, as in all areas of medicine, prescribing and nonprescribing occurs every day as part of personalized, evidence-based treatment planning between doctors and patients. The solution is not to stigmatize psychiatric medications or impose broad assumptions about clinical care, but to ensure that patients have access to the full range of evidence-based treatments and that decisions are guided by the best available science and the needs of each patient.”