The Health and Human Services secretary said the new MAHA effort will examine antidepressant prescribing trends and promote greater transparency surrounding psychiatric medications.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a new federal initiative Monday aimed at addressing what he described as widespread overprescription of psychiatric medications in the United States, particularly among children, young adults, and nursing home residents.
The initiative was unveiled during a Make America Healthy Again Institute summit focused on mental health and overmedicalization, where Kennedy outlined plans for a broader review of psychiatric prescribing practices and informed consent standards.
During his remarks, Kennedy argued that the United States is confronting not only a mental health crisis, but also what he called a “dependency crisis” tied to pharmaceutical overuse.
“Today, we take clear and decisive action to confront our nation’s mental health crisis by addressing the overuse of psychiatric medications, especially among children,” Kennedy said.
“The United States does not just face a mental health crisis, we face a dependency crisis driven by overmedicalization.”
Kennedy cited statistics involving antidepressant and psychiatric medication use across multiple age groups.
“One in 10 American adults takes an antidepressant. One in 10 children are on prescription medication for their mental health,” he said.
“Thirty percent of college students report using psychiatric medications in the past year. In nursing homes, more than half of the residents are on prescribed antidepressants.”
Kennedy also argued that many patients begin psychiatric treatment without fully understanding withdrawal effects, long-term risks, or alternatives to medication.
“That’s not a marginal issue. This is a system-level pattern,” Kennedy said. “Too many patients begin treatment without a clear understanding of the risks… or how to come off of them. That’s not informed consent.”
Video of Kennedy’s remarks from the summit circulated online in a social media clip.
As part of the initiative, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will prepare a national report examining psychiatric prescribing trends and treatment practices throughout the country.
Senior officials at the Department of Health and Human Services also released a “Dear Colleague” letter stating that psychiatric medications “should not be understood as the only treatment option.”
Kennedy has repeatedly questioned the scale of antidepressant, SSRI, and ADHD medication use in the United States and has previously raised concerns about prescribing practices involving minors.
The announcement arrives amid continued debate surrounding the long-term effects of psychiatric medications and whether antidepressants and related drugs are being prescribed too broadly.
The article also referenced ongoing public discussion surrounding selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, and mass violence incidents, while noting that scientific conclusions regarding such links remain disputed and contentious within the medical community.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 16.5 percent of American adults were taking psychiatric medication as of 2020.
The American Psychiatric Association responded to Kennedy’s announcement by expressing support for additional research into prescribing trends while disputing the idea that overprescription alone is driving the nation’s mental health crisis.
“Deprescribing alone is not a sufficient response,” the organization said in a statement.
Kennedy’s latest MAHA initiative adds to broader administration efforts focused on chronic disease, food policy, pharmaceutical transparency, and childhood health concerns under the Trump administration’s public health agenda.
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