U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a plan to reduce “overprescribing” of psychiatric medications and support alternative treatment options and medication discontinuation when appropriate. Kennedy announced the plan at a MAHA Institute summit on mental health and overmedicalization, stating: “We will support patient autonomy, require informed consent and shared decision-making, and shift the standard of care toward prevention, transparency and a more holistic approach to mental health.”
The announcement addresses prescription patterns for psychiatric medications and their benefits and potential harms, while elevating the role of nonmedication treatments. Those treatments include family support, dietary changes, therapy, and physical activity. Kennedy claimed psychiatric medications, particularly antidepressants, are overused and linked with various harms. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed these medications generally safe and effective for mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance use disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Psychiatry experts welcomed efforts to improve psychiatric healthcare but noted concerns. Dr. Jonathan Alpert, the Dorothy and Marty Silverman Chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Montefiore Medical Center, stated: “We should be concerned about both overprescribing and underprescribing.” Dr. Theresa Miskimen Rivera, president of the American Psychiatric Association, supported investment and research but cautioned, “We do have an issue with the framing of mental health as a primary problem of overmedicalization. This type of characterization really oversimplifies a very complex, larger issue.”
Experts expressed concern that emphasizing overprescribing is unbalanced given gaps in access to care. Depression remains the leading cause of disability worldwide, yet only about 40 percent of adults and adolescents with depression in the United States received counseling or therapy, and 11.4 percent took prescription medication for depression. Suicide rates in the United States rose 35 percent between 2000 and 2018. Rivera cautioned that people with mental health concerns should not quit medications without physician involvement, as it may have serious consequences including side effects or relapse.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://krdo.com/news/2026/05/05/rfk-jr-launches-plan-to-curb-overprescribing-of-psychiatric-drugs/