The First Step to Safe Deprescribing: Understanding the Full Story

Welcome to Deprescribing Digest!

Hi everyone—Tonia here! Welcome to the inaugural issue of Deprescribing Digest. This is your guide to resources for navigating life while on psychiatric drugs and how to be safe when you decide to stop.

This edition celebrates clinicians, psychologists, and advocates who research, support, and report on the harms of overreliance on psychotropic drugs. They advocate for safer alternatives and empower us to reclaim our emotional narratives.

From critiquing biased research to building peer-support networks, these trailblazers show that real change comes from questioning the status quo. Let's amplify their work and inspire our community to keep pushing back!

Featured Rebels: Clinicians Leading the Charge

Meet the psychiatrists and psychologists who confront the APA's biomedical model and Pharma's profit-driven influence. Their critiques highlight how psychotropics often cause more harm than healing. They point out issues like dependency, brain changes, and misdiagnosed withdrawal while ignoring the social and environmental roots of distress.

Here's a spotlight on their groundbreaking efforts:

Peter Breggin, MD: The Pioneer of Empathic Reform

Dr. Breggin has been a thorn in the side of the APA for decades. He calls out their promotion of "pseudoscientific" diagnoses and coercive drugging as violations of human rights. He views psychotropics like stimulants and antipsychotics as toxic tools of control, not cures. He accuses Pharma of corrupting guidelines through financial ties.

His books, Toxic Psychiatry (1991) and Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal (2013), offer roadmaps for safe tapering. Breggin founded the Center for the Study of Empathic Therapy to push for non-coercive, empathy-based care. As an expert witness in lawsuits, he's helped survivors win cases against drug-induced harms like tardive dyskinesia. His work has reduced forced treatments and validated our experiences.

Joanna Moncrieff, MD: Redefining the Drug Debate

Moncrieff challenges the APA's disease-centered approach. She argues it medicalizes everyday life stressors while Pharma exaggerates benefits and hides withdrawal risks. She promotes a "drug-centered" model, seeing antipsychotics as behavioral suppressants rather than illness cures.

As a co-founder of the Critical Psychiatry Network (1999), she's influenced deprescribing policies. Books like The Myth of the Chemical Cure (2008) educate us about alternatives. Her research supports tapering safely to end long-term dependence.

David Healy, MD: Exposing Pharma's Hidden Dangers

Healy blasts the APA for letting Pharma-funded biases dominate. He highlights risks like SSRI-induced suicidality and calls out "disease mongering" that expands markets at our expense. Through his book Pharmageddon (2012) and the nonprofit RxISK.org, he has collected survivor stories to challenge underreported harms. His testimonies have secured black-box warnings and compensation in cases, empowering us to demand accountability.

Irving Kirsch, PhD: Debunking the Antidepressant Myth

Kirsch's meta-analyses show antidepressants' effects are mostly placebo, with risks outweighing benefits. He critiques APA endorsements and Pharma data manipulation. His book The Emperor's New Drugs (2009) validates "failed" treatments as system flaws. He promotes psychotherapy and reduces stigma around deprescribing.

Loren Mosher, MD (Deceased): Visionary of Drug-Free Havens

Mosher criticized APA institutionalization and Pharma's antipsychotic push. He saw drugs as symptom suppressors, ignoring social causes. The Soteria Project (1971-1983) demonstrated that drug-free, peer-supported recovery is more effective than standard care. This inspired global alternatives and reduced reliance on institutions.

Duncan Double, MD: Advocating for Limits

Double questions APA's drug "panacea." He highlights uncertainties and social factors overlooked by Pharma marketing. As a co-founder of the Critical Psychiatry Network, he promotes person-centered care. His book Critical Psychiatry (2006) advocates for community options over overprescription.

Emerging Voices: New Perspectives on Withdrawal & Harm

These newer challengers focus on specific vulnerabilities, from pregnancy risks to tapering strategies. They shake the system with survivor-centered research.

Adam C. Urato, MD: Protecting the Next Generation

Urato calls out the APA and Pharma for minimizing SSRI risks in pregnancy. He highlights risks like autism and preterm birth, blaming illnesses instead of drugs. His FDA panel work and initiatives like Mothers on Antidepressants push for informed consent, aiding pregnant patients in choosing non-drug paths.

Adele Framer: Survivor-Led Tapering Revolution

As a lay expert, Framer exposes the APA's downplaying of withdrawal. She argues Pharma's short studies hide dependency. SurvivingAntidepressants.org (2011) has helped 18,000+ with tapering methods. Adele's newest mission is the Psychotropic Deprescribing Council, which educates doctors on safe deprescribing.

Anders Sørensen, PhD: Bridging Therapy & Deprescribing

Sørensen critiques the APA's first-line approach, which relies on psychotropics that mask issues and hinder therapy. He views them as dependence creators. His book Crossing Zero (2025) and clinical work support hundreds in withdrawal, inspiring global clinician training.

Mark Horowitz, MD: Guidelines for Safe Exit

Horowitz promotes a "drug-centered" view, criticizing the APA and Pharma for mislabeling withdrawal as relapse. He co-authored The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines (2024) and founded Outro Health, which provides hyperbolic tapering support. This reduces misdiagnosis and aids recovery.

Laura Delano: From Patient to Peer Leader

Delano critiques the APA's DSM as illegitimate. She believes Pharma's lobbying power causes overmedicalizing distress and pushing lifelong drugs. She shares how psychotropics caused chronic worsening symptoms, rather than an underlying "illness." She highlights polypharmacy harms and the lack of withdrawal guidance. Delano founded the Inner Compass Initiative and The Withdrawal Project, providing free resources and tapering manuals. Her memoir Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance (2025) shares her journey off 19 drugs, validating "treatment resistance" as iatrogenic harm.

Robert Whitaker: Investigative Force Behind the Exposé

Though a journalist, not a clinician, Whitaker has profoundly shaken the system. He documents how psychotropic drugs, far from curing, have fueled an epidemic of disability. He critiques the APA's embrace of Pharma partnerships and the flawed "chemical imbalance" narrative justifying mass prescribing. His seminal books Mad in America (2001) and Anatomy of an Epidemic (2010) have armed the survivor movement with rigorous evidence. By exposing industry corruption and poor long-term results, Whitaker has validated survivor experiences of drug-induced chronicity.

Legacy Influencers: Foundations of the Movement

Don't forget trailblazers like Joseph Glenmullen (Prozac Backlash, 2000), Peter Gøtzsche (Deadly Psychiatry, 2015), R.D. Laing, and Thomas Szasz. Their works inspired networks like Mad in America and the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry.

Resources and Next Steps

• Join the Critical Psychiatry Network or visit RxISK.org for side-effect reporting.

• Check out Inner Compass Initiative for tapering support and community.

• Explore books and sites mentioned—empower yourself with knowledge!

  
  

Remember, shaking the system starts with us. Stay strong, stay informed, and keep questioning. Until next time—solidarity in survival!

Which book or resource will you explore first? Or share your thoughts on Dr. Urato's testimony—what surprised you most?

Stay fierce,

Tonia

lifewithantidepressants.com | Read my full story on Mad in America.

P.S. Issue #2 drops next: Peer Power. Subscribe if you haven't!