Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that the federal health department will launch initiatives to reduce antidepressant use in the US. Kennedy, who outlined these plans at a recent Make America Healthy Again Institute event, has consistently expressed his goal to reduce psychiatric drug use. Kennedy has claimed without evidence that these drugs are linked to a rise in school shootings and has voiced concerns about weaning off the medications and withdrawal symptoms. In a press release about the plans, the Department of Health and Human Services said it aimed to “curb psychiatric overprescribing” and promote “deprescribing when clinically indicated.” At the event, focused on “overmedicalization” of mental health, Kennedy acknowledged the role of psychiatric medications but said his department will no longer treat them as the default. “Let me be clear: if you are taking psychiatric medication, we are not telling you to stop. We are making sure you, and your clinician, have the information and support to make the right decision for you,” Kennedy said. The initiative targets the most prescribed psychiatric drugs, first-line treatments for depression and anxiety such as Zoloft, Lexapro, and Prozac. According to a 2025 survey across all 50 states, nearly 17% of respondents currently used antidepressants. The survey also found that a “significant proportion of adults in every US state oppose efforts to restrict access to antidepressant prescribing.”
