How to safely taper off antidepressants – developing resources for patient use

In this episode, we talk to Professor Katharine Wallis, Head of the General Practice Clinical Unit at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. We caught up with her whilst she was in the UK to discuss the paper that she and first author Suzanne McDonald have published here in the BJGP. Title of paper: Acceptability and optimisation of resources to support antidepressant cessation: A qualitative think-aloud study with patientsAvailable at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0269It is not known how best to support patients to safely stop long-term (>12 months) antidepressants when there is no clinical indication for continued use. The current study tested and optimised three patient resources designed to raise awareness and recognition of withdrawal symptoms and to provide step-by-step guidance for tapering drug dose to minimise withdrawal symptoms. Adults with lived experience of long-term antidepressant use reported that the resources were useful, acceptable, clear, comprehensible, and reassuring. The effectiveness of these consumer-informed resources in supporting safe cessation of long-term antidepressants is currently being tested in general practice.