While pharmacotherapy can play a useful therapeutic role in the treatment of behavioral health conditions, the widespread use of medication as the first choice for a variety of concerns has led to overprescribing. For example, the use of psychotropic drugs by adult Americans increased 22% from 2001 to 2010. This problem is not unique to behavioral health, but it is in this area of healthcare that the psychologist – especially the medical/prescribing psychologist – can apply knowledge and skills to provide the best possible care for the patient.

In this presentation Dr. Roger Clark will discuss the practice of deprescribing as one of the important components of providing treatment, and one that directly addresses the use of medication when the costs of this treatment outweigh the potential benefits for the patient. A review of the current status of prescription drug use in the United States will be followed by a discussion of reasons/indications to deprescribe, challenges to this aspect of treatment, and deprescribing considerations for the taper and/or discontinuation of several classes of psychotropics.

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