Psychiatrists say RFK Jr.'s take on SSRIs is an 'oversimplification' of the problem

At a MAHA Institute event on Monday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to help people wean off antidepressants. Kennedy is pictured here arriving at another Make America Healthy Again event in November 2025. Rod Lamkey/AP hide caption toggle caption Rod Lamkey/AP As the federal health department launches a plan to wean patients off antidepressants, mental health advocates and psychiatrists say blaming the United States' mental health crisis on overmedicalization and overprescription of psychiatric medications is an inaccurate portrayal of a complex problem. "It really is an oversimplification," says Dr. Theresa Miskimen Rivera , president of the American Psychiatric Association. "And it really ignores the larger reality, which is that too many patients really cannot access timely, comprehensive care that is much needed for our nation." But, she adds that she and the American Psychiatric Association support any plans to better train healthcare providers to safely prescribe and wean patients off antidepressants. "We're also very much in support of the administration's plans to further investment in research and the efforts to improve quality, safety [and] evidence-based mental health treatment," says Miskimen Rivera. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long claimed that psychiatric medications are overprescribed and that their serious side effects harm people. …