Safe, Supported Tapering Program - Brisbane ACT Centre

Safe, Supported Antidepressant Tapering with Dr Rob Purssey

Where science, skill, and compassion meet in medication reduction.

Dr Rob Purssey is one of Australia’s foremost psychiatric experts in this area, and is recognised internationally for his expertise in hyperbolic antidepressant deprescribing; a careful, science-based approach to reducing medication while building psychological flexibility and re-engaging with life.

We now know what wasn’t widely understood even a few years ago:  coming off antidepressants can be difficult - sometimes very difficult. 

Physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms are common, and they are often mistaken for relapse.

But there’s good news.

 With the right knowledge, preparation, and support, it’s absolutely possible to taper safely and reclaim your vitality.

Learn more about Dr Purssey

When long-term antidepressant use starts to dull life’s spark

Many people have been on antidepressants for years and begin to wonder whether the medication is still necessary.

Some have tried to stop, only to find the process far more difficult than expected.

Over time, many report feeling tired, emotionally flat, or disconnected from life and relationships.

These experiences reflect some of the most common side effects of long-term antidepressant use: fatigue, weight gain, emotional and sexual numbing, dry eyes and mouth, and that subtle “life drain” so often described.

A Better Way Forward

Long-term antidepressant use isn’t recommended for most people, and depression is not a long-term condition caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, the serotonin deficiency theory is not grounded in science.  

Dr Purssey helps clients taper slowly and safely through a hyperbolic, individually tailored reduction plan, often using affordable compounded medication (around $1 per capsule) which includes ongoing collaboration and support with an expert compounding pharmacy. 

Equally important, he integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) - practical science-based skills to help you unhook from difficult thoughts and feelings, reconnect with your values, flexibly handle emotions which may have been suppressed for years, and build a richer, self-directed life.

Safe, Supported Antidepressant Tapering Program

A structured yet flexible sequence of sessions including:

• Initial 90-minute assessment: comprehensive review of your mental health, medication history, and goals.
• Ongoing ACT-based psychotherapy: hour-long sessions, usually fortnightly then monthly, to strengthen psychological flexibility and support tapering.
• Deepening ACT psychological flexibility skills building, understanding each individual’s particular struggles and ways to unhook, plus medication review.
• Further skills building, experiencing the amplifying aspect of struggle, working together to understand how to get unstuck.
• Defusion skills – specific strategies to quickly unhook from difficult thoughts
• Defusion skills extended – broadening strategies to unhook from unhelpful thoughts
• Observing self skills building, a key process which builds further upon all the above.
• Reinforcing observing skills, personal practice, reviewing progress made in significant life directions, sending specific collaboratively developed action plans.
• Expansion work to make room for uncomfortable sensations, reviewing progress
• Values clarification, as required and reinforcing all prior skills building, including encouraging personally chosen evidence-based skills building materials.
• Maintenance reviews: shorter check-ins and skills maintenance every 6–8 weeks as you consolidate skills and continue gradual reduction toward cessation of medication.

(Full program costs from $252 out-of-pocket for the first session, with subsequent hour-long sessions $240 out-of-pocket, and later half hour sessions $146 out-of-pocket)

Learn more about Tapering

Get in Touch

Would you like help exploring if tapering your antidepressants might be right for you? Dr Rob Purssey offers compassionate, evidence-based guidance every step of the way.