IMA Senior Fellow in Psychiatry Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring entered the field believing that understanding the causes of mental health problems would help doctors give patients the tools and skills to overcome them. During residency, he encountered a different reality: brief, transactional visits that ended with a prescription.
In this clip from his IMA Academy lesson, he examines the broader trends. Antidepressant use has increased fivefold since the late 1990s, he notes, while suicide rates have risen 40%. Among children and adolescents, antidepressant use has doubled over the past 20 years, alongside rising teen suicidality.
The full 48-minute lesson explores how clinicians can help patients reduce their reliance on these medications. A former FDA medical officer, Dr. Witt-Doerring outlines a structured, patient-centered approach to deprescribing psychotropic medications. He explains how to choose which agent to taper first, walks through practical techniques such as compounded liquids and dry cuts, and shows how to recognize withdrawal symptoms and adjust the plan accordingly.
