Archive · 12 Dec 2025
Gradual Antidepressant Reduction with Therapy Cuts Relapse
A new study found that slowly reducing the amount of antidepressant medicine, while also getting psychological support, can help people who have recovered from depression.
This method can prevent depression from coming back in many people.
The study looked at many different trials and found that this gradual approach is better than suddenly stopping the medicine.
It's important for people to talk to their doctors about the best way to stop taking antidepressants.
The study also showed that this method doesn't cause more side effects or make people more likely to drop out of treatment.
Gradual reduction of antidepressants with psychological support can effectively prevent depression relapse.
The study involved 76 randomized controlled trials with 17,379 adults.
Slow tapering plus psychological support prevents one relapse in every five individuals compared to abrupt stopping or fast tapering.
Continuing with reduced doses was better than abruptly stopping, but the evidence was less strong.
No significant differences in side effects or dropouts were observed between different deprescribing strategies.
- Who
- Adults who have recovered from depression and are considering stopping antidepressants
- What
- Gradual reduction of antidepressants with psychological support reduces depression relapse
- When
- The study was published on Friday
- Where
- The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Verona in Italy
- Why
- To address concerns about overprescribing, long-term use, and withdrawal symptoms of antidepressants
- Study Type
- Systematic review and network meta-analysis
- Number of Trials
- 76
- Participants
- 17,379 adults
- Key Finding
- Gradual tapering with psychological support prevents one relapse in five individuals
- Publication
- The Lancet Psychiatry
- Lead Author
- Professor Giovanni Ostuzzi, University of Verona