RFK Jr. Targets Antidepressants Like Zoloft and Prozac — Pushes ‘More Holistic’ Mental Health Fixes Like Exercise, Diet and Family Support

For decades, a prescription pad has often been the first stop for treating depression and anxiety. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants that to become one option — not the automatic one.

Speaking as the closing speaker at the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Institute’s Mental Health and Overmedicalization Summit in Washington, D.C. on May 4, Kennedy unveiled a federal action plan aimed at reducing what he called the overuse of psychiatric medications, particularly among children.

“Today, we take clear and decisive action to confront our nation’s mental health crisis by addressing the overuse of psychiatric medications — especially among children,” Kennedy said. “We will support patient autonomy, require informed consent and shared decision-making, and shift the standard of care toward prevention, transparency, and a more holistic approach to mental health.”

Changing the Conversation Around Treatment

The initiative doesn’t call for eliminating antidepressants or other psychiatric medications. Instead, Kennedy said the goal is to ensure patients fully understand their options before beginning — or ending — treatment.

“Let me be clear: If you are taking psychiatric medication, we are not telling you to stop,” Kennedy said. “We are making sure you — and your clinician — have the information and support to make the right decision for you.”

The plan includes a “Dear Colleague” letter urging healthcare providers to prioritize informed consent, new clinical guidance on safely tapering medications when appropriate, training programs for clinicians, and new billing codes that would allow providers to be reimbursed for deprescribing services. Kennedy also emphasized alternatives such as psychotherapy, family support, nutrition and physical activity when clinically appropriate.

“Psychiatric medications have a role in care, but we will no longer treat them as the default,” he said. “We will treat them as one option, used when appropriate, with full transparency, and with a clear path off when they are no longer effective.”

A Shift That Could Ripple Across Healthcare

The announcement carries implications well beyond doctors’ offices.

About one in six U.S. adults reportedly takes an antidepressant, making medications such as Zoloft (sertraline) and Prozac (fluoxetine) a multibillion-dollar market. If prescribing practices gradually shift toward lifestyle-based interventions before medication, pharmaceutical manufacturers and generic drugmakers could face slower demand growth.

At the same time, businesses tied to preventive health may benefit. Fitness companies, nutrition-focused brands, behavioral health providers and digital wellness platforms all align with the administration’s emphasis on exercise, diet, and family support as part of mental healthcare.

Healthcare providers could also see new revenue opportunities through reimbursement for deprescribing services and other non-medication interventions.

Prevention Takes Center Stage

Kennedy’s announcement is the latest piece of the administration’s broader MAHA agenda, which focuses on preventing chronic disease rather than relying primarily on long-term pharmaceutical treatment.

Whether that vision ultimately reshapes mental healthcare remains to be seen. But it signals a notable shift in federal priorities — from asking which medication comes first to asking whether medication should come first at all.

For investors, it’s also a reminder that policy changes often reshape markets long before they reshape everyday life. As Washington leans further into prevention and lifestyle-based care, companies positioned around wellness, nutrition, fitness, and value-based healthcare may find themselves at the center of the next phase of the conversation.