Danielle Stutzman, Member-at-Large of AAPP Board of Directors
I had the opportunity to represent AAPP and psychiatric pharmacy at the "SSRI Deprescribing Technical Expert Panel" hosted by SAMHSA in Washington D.C. July 6-7, 2026. This TEP was an outgrowth of a MAHA Institute Summit in May focused on "psychiatric overprescribing and overmedicalization" per HHS.
AAPP was invited to participate and the Board of Directors agreed that it was a fantastic opportunity to share clinical expertise, advocate for the psychiatric pharmacy profession, share real-world experience, provide updates to the evidence-base regarding the role of SSRIs in treatment, and advocate for those that benefit from antidepressant treatment in addition to those who can ultimately be tapered off.
In addition to AAPP, representatives from APhA, ACCP (represented by AAPP member Sarah Benner), AACAP, APA, NAMI, MHA and others came together with a shared goal of drafting clinical guidance on SSRI discontinuation and tapering in adults and youth. This clinical guidance is intended to provide practical "how to" information, including important considerations before SSRI tapering (e.g., shared decision making, evaluation for symptom remission), during tapering (e.g., serotonin discontinuation versus re-emergence of symptoms), and after the taper is complete (e.g., ongoing engagement in non-pharmacologic treatment).
I was struck by the overwhelming support for and recognition of psychiatric pharmacists, with group consensus that we provide essential expertise for youth and adults living with mental illness. Other participants were eager to learn more about psychotropic stewardship as a successful clinical framework to support key psychotropic outcomes, including rational deprescribing. Psychiatrists, child psychiatrists, and patient advocates shared their experiences working with a psychiatric pharmacist and agreed that we play an important role. AAPP will be working diligently to take advantage of these connections to advocate for increased scope and payment for psychiatric pharmacists.
The Technical Expert Panel was not designed to arrive at consensus based actions. As such, AAPP will be closely monitoring the results communicated through SAMHSA and consider any additional actions that might be needed. Stay tuned for more information from AAPP and be sure to review AAPP’s Policy Statements and Briefs on deprescribing and other key policy issues.