Rethinking Psychiatric Medications: A Critical Conversation on Healing, Withdrawal, & Deprescribing
Have you ever wondered: Do psychiatric medications really work? How long should you stay on them? Are withdrawal symptoms just part of the illness coming back—or something else entirely?
This event invites you into a candid, evidence-based conversation that challenges mainstream narratives around psychiatric medications. Whether you’re currently taking meds, supporting someone who is, or simply curious, this is a space for asking the difficult questions that rarely get asked in traditional healthcare settings.
Led by a critical psychiatrist, this session explores deprescribing—the careful, informed process of reducing or stopping psychiatric medications when they no longer serve your wellbeing.
What You’ll Learn
- What science tells us (and doesn’t tell us) about long-term use of psychiatric medications
- How to distinguish between withdrawal symptoms and relapse
- The importance of gradual tapering and psycho-social support
- Why recovery is about more than just symptom management
- Navigating the healthcare system and advocating for yourself
- Understanding the “dignity of risk” and making informed, personal choices
- Risks of polypharmacy and how to have better conversations with providers
Format
A 40-minute talk followed by an extended Q&A session, where you can ask your own questions about psychiatric meds, alternatives, and what recovery can look like.
Meet the Speaker
Dr. Yousuf Raza
Consultant Psychiatrist, Mental Health Coach, and Founder & CEO of Telepsych Pakistan. With over a decade of experience in online and in-person mental health services, Dr. Raza brings a holistic and critically informed perspective to psychiatry.
He holds a Fellowship in Psychiatry from the College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan and is currently pursuing a PhD in Psychology, focusing on the restoration of the human self through the philosophical insights of Muhammad Iqbal and Charles Peirce.
An experienced educator, Dr. Raza has taught psychology at universities in both Pakistan and the United States, and has delivered workshops and talks on the intersections of psychology, psychiatry, and religion.