Free Resources for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal, Deprescribing & Metabolic Mental Health

This page is a curated starting point for people who are in, recovering from, or trying to understand psychiatric medication withdrawal — and for people who want to learn more about the role metabolic health plays in mental health.

Most of what changed my own understanding of withdrawal, deprescribing, and metabolic psychiatry didn't come from textbooks or training. It came from the researchers, clinicians, peer communities, and writers listed below — many of whom have done the work of telling the truth about psychiatric medications when most of medicine wasn't ready to listen.

This list was put together in collaboration with Angie Peacock, MSW, whose work in psychiatric drug withdrawal advocacy and coaching has shaped this field. We're intentionally aligning what we recommend so that the people we both work with see consistent, trustworthy sources.

A note on how to use this list: Recommendation is not endorsement of all content. Please use discernment when reading information online, and always work with knowledgeable medical and peer support while deprescribing psychiatric medications.

Deprescribing & Withdrawal

From this practice

• Tapering Off SSRIs

• Tapering Off SNRIs

• Tapering Off Benzodiazepines

• Tapering Off Antipsychotics

• Protracted Withdrawal Self-Assessment

Researchers, Clinicians & Advocacy Organizations

• Mark Horowitz, MBBS, PhD — Co-author of the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines and the researcher whose work brought hyperbolic tapering into mainstream clinical conversation.

• Anders Sørensen, PhD — Clinical psychologist and researcher writing about psychiatric drug withdrawal at Crossing Zero.

• Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines — The first evidence-based clinical guide to safely tapering psychiatric medications.

• Outro — Online tapering support and clinical care.

• Psychotropic Deprescribing Council — Professional organization advancing safer prescribing and deprescribing practices.

• Antidepressant Council for Education — Patient-centered education on antidepressants and withdrawal.

• International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal (IIPDW) — International network of clinicians and researchers focused on withdrawal.

• Mad in America — Long-running publication covering psychiatric research, withdrawal, and reform.

• Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry (CEP) — UK-based advocacy and education on evidence-based psychiatric practice.

• RxISK — Independent drug safety reporting site founded by Dr. David Healy.

• Open Excellence — Foundation supporting research and education in mental health alternatives.

• Alliance for Benzo Best Practices — Education and reform around benzodiazepine prescribing and tapering.

• International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry (ISEPP) — Professional society advocating for ethical mental health care.

• MindFreedom International — Human rights organization in mental health.

• International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis (ISPS-US) — Non-medication-first approaches to psychosis.

• Institute for the Development of the Human Arts (IDHA) — Transformative education in mental health.

• The Medication-Induced Suicide Prevention and Education Foundation (MISSD) — Education and prevention around medication-induced suicidality.

Online Peer Support for Harm Reduction & Deprescribing

• Surviving Antidepressants — The longest-running and most thorough peer forum for antidepressant tapering.

• Inner Compass Initiative — The Withdrawal Project — Peer learning and harm reduction community.

• Benzo Warrior Community — Peer support for benzodiazepine withdrawal.

• Cymbalta Hurts Worse — Peer support for duloxetine withdrawal.

• Lexapro Support, Withdrawal, Recovery — Peer support for escitalopram withdrawal.

• Mirtazapine Withdrawal, Support, Recovery — Peer support for mirtazapine withdrawal.

Films & Documentaries

• Medicating Normal — Documentary on the iatrogenic harm of psychiatric medications.

• As Prescribed — Documentary specifically focused on benzodiazepine harm.

• Healing Voices — Documentary on lived experience and recovery in mental health.

• Crazywise — Documentary on non-Western and non-medication approaches to mental health crises.

Metabolic Psychiatry & Whole-Person Mental Health

The connection between metabolic health and mental health is one of the most important emerging conversations in psychiatry. These resources are where I've learned the most about how nutrition, ketogenic therapy, insulin resistance, mitochondrial function, and lifestyle inputs shape mental health.

Clinicians, Researchers & Educators

• Dr. Chris Palmer, MD — Harvard psychiatrist, author of Brain Energy, and a foundational voice in metabolic psychiatry.

• Dr. Georgia Ede, MD — Psychiatrist specializing in nutritional and metabolic approaches to mental health. Author of Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind. Her Ketogenic Diets for Mental Health clinician training is part of my own training.

• Dr. Bret Scher, MD — Cardiologist and Medical Director of Metabolic Mind, focused on translating metabolic psychiatry research for clinicians and the public.

• Dr. Shebani Sethi, MD — Stanford psychiatrist running clinical trials of ketogenic therapy for serious mental illness.

Organizations

• Metabolic Mind — Non-profit dedicated to advancing metabolic psychiatry through education, research, and personal stories.

• Adapt Your Life Academy — Education in low-carb and ketogenic approaches for metabolic health.

Books

• Brain Energy by Dr. Chris Palmer — A unifying theory of mental illness through the lens of metabolism and mitochondrial function.

• Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind by Dr. Georgia Ede — Evidence-based guide to using nutrition for mental health.

• The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines by Dr. Mark Horowitz and Dr. David Taylor — The clinical reference for tapering psychiatric medications.

A note on what's not here

I haven't included general mental health resources, crisis lines, or therapy directories on this page. If you're in crisis or having thoughts of self-harm, please call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room.

If you're looking for more general mental health support that doesn't fit the deprescribing or metabolic framework, your primary care provider, a licensed therapist, or your local mental health authority are better starting points than this page.