The American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology’s February, 2026 consensus statement in JAMA Network Open represents an important shift in the field by recognizing deprescribing as an essential component of responsible psychopharmacologic care, emphasizing that the need for every course of psychiatric medication should be reassessed regularly rather than assumed to be indefinite.
Forty-five international experts reached unanimous agreement that clinicians should periodically evaluate whether the benefits of continued treatment outweigh the risks, incorporating shared decision-making and each patient’s individual circumstances into the process. While the statement does not provide specific tapering protocols, it establishes deprescribing as a routine part of evidence-based psychiatric practice and reinforces that discontinuation should be considered whenever medications are no longer beneficial, are poorly tolerated, or are no longer clinically indicated.
Joseph F. Goldberg, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and immediate past president of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, noted in a recent interview with Psychiatric Times that medications which are ineffective or poorly tolerated should be deprescribed, while also emphasizing the limited efficacy of current psychotropic treatments and the lack of robust alternative options. While maintaining that fewer than one in five individuals with depression receive minimally adequate care, he said that a technical expert panel will convene this summer to develop more detailed guidance on deprescribing practices.
Reference
Goldberg, J. F., McIntyre, R. S., Swartz, H. A., Freeman, M. P., Mago, R., Citrome, L., Rosenblat, J. D., Thase, M. E., Tohen, M., Vieta, E., Malhi, G. S., Sajatovic, M., Shelton, R. C., Macaluso, M., Berk, M., Perlis, R. H., Ostacher, M. J., Khan, A., Iosifescu, D. V., … For the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology Task Force on the Deprescribing of Psychotropic Medications. (2026). Recommendations for the Deprescribing of Psychotropic Medications: A Consensus Statement From the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology Task Force. JAMA Network Open, 9(2), e260043. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.0043
