Many people across Arizona—from Phoenix and Mesa to Gilbert, Chandler, and Tucson—are beginning to ask a very important question:
“Do I really need to stay on all these medications forever?”
If you’ve wondered that yourself, you’re not alone. Medications can be life-changing and a lot of the times, they’re necessary, especially during times of crisis. But for many people, the goal isn’t to stay on them forever. Many more people are using medication in the short-term as a way to help the body heal so the brain can function more independently again.
As a dually-trained naturopathic doctor and psychiatric nurse practitioner, I specialize in integrative and functional medicine approaches to mental health care. My goal is to help patients across Arizona optimize both body and mind—so they can feel well naturally, with or without medication, when appropriate.
That’s where deprescribing comes in.
Why is Safe De-prescribing of Psychiatric Medication Important?
But before I tell you the specifics of safe de-prescribing, I want to tell you why this is so important. This story is personal to me. Many years ago, when I was in my late teens, my mother was dealing with anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. She was prescribed three medications, but instead of feeling better on the meds, she found that she was experiencing more severe depression and anxiety and more frequent panic attacks while taking the medication. So we went to her psychiatrist to tell him, and to ask if he could help her taper off the medication.
The psychiatrist was very reluctant, even aggressively so, but eventually he agreed to tell my mom how to discontinue the medication. We left his office armed with his instructions and ready to begin the process. My mom was able to taper the first drug without incident, but when she began weaning off the second med, she started experiencing some very concerning stroke-like symptoms. She went to her primary care provider, who quickly sent her to the emergency department. After what seemed like forever and a whirlwind of examinations, the staff at the emergency department informed us that the weaning protocol we had received from the psychiatrist was too fast for my mom; her mind and body weren’t adequately prepared for that rapid of a taper, and the stroke-like symptoms she experienced were a direct result of her body withdrawing too rapidly from the medication. My mom had to get back on the medication for some time before she could attempt another taper—this time, a much slower taper that was more in harmony with what was going on in her brain and body.
So What Is Safe De-prescribing?
Safe de-prescribing is the intentional, medically supervised process of safely reducing or stopping medications that may no longer be necessary—or that might be contributing to unwanted side effects.
Quitting medications abruptly has no place in this process. Because psychotropic meds change the brain and body, most of their dosages need to be gradually reduced in order to avoid unwanted and sometimes severe withdrawal effects. Sometimes, if you taper a med too rapidly, what you’ll find is that the person ends up in crisis and has to get back on the medication, but the previous dosage is no longer as effective, so they actually need to increase the dose to achieve the same level of stability. These are all outcomes that safe de-prescribing seeks to avoid. Before initiating a taper, the body and nervous system need to be prepared to function optimally. This makes the tapering process less jarring. Our goal is for the weaning process to be perceived by the body as gentle, steady, and supportive rather than destabilizing.
In our holistic and functional psychiatry practice, we view de-prescribing as a whole-body process. Before we ever adjust a dose, we work to get your physical health in the best possible condition—because when the body is strong, the brain becomes more resilient.
Step One: Preparing the Body for Stability
Successful tapering begins with supporting your body’s foundational health. The more balanced your metabolic and nutritional systems are, the easier your brain can adapt to changes in medication.
Here’s how we begin:
1. Optimize Blood Sugar Balance
Blood sugar swings can create anxiety, irritability, and mood crashes. Many people are surprised to learn that balancing blood sugar with the right nutrition can dramatically improve emotional stability.
In our functional medicine approach, we help you establish steady glucose patterns through balanced whole foods with adequate protein and fiber, and healthy fats. This not only stabilizes mood but it also makes it less likely that you’ll experience unwanted symptoms while tapering medications.
2. Reduce Inflammation
Chronic inflammation has been linked to depression, anxiety, brain fog, and fatigue. By identifying and addressing inflammatory triggers—whether dietary, metabolic, hormonal, or environmental—we help the body return to a state of calm and repair in preparation for the upcoming taper.
When inflammation decreases, your brain chemistry can function more smoothly, paving the way for a more successful weaning process.
3. Heal the Gut
Your gut and brain are in constant communication through the gut-brain axis. Poor gut health can interfere with neurotransmitter production and even change how medications are metabolized.
Through integrative gut repair protocols—including probiotics, prebiotics, and healing foods—we help restore balance to your digestive system so your brain has the support it needs during tapering.
4. Replenish Nutrient Stores
Many psychiatric medications can deplete nutrients like magnesium, folate, and vitamin B12. These nutrients are essential for mood regulation and optimal brain health.
Before and during tapering, we use natural supplementation and nutrient testing to replenish deficiencies. Optimizing nutrient status helps minimize withdrawal symptoms and it also promotes long-term emotional balance.
5. Support Sleep and Stress Response
Your nervous system needs rest and recovery to handle change. We use holistic strategies—from circadian rhythm support to gentle adaptogenic herbs—to help your body find calm, improve sleep, and build resilience.
Once your body is balanced, you’re far better equipped for the next step: tapering medications using a safe, evidence-based approach.
Step Two: Hyperbolic Tapering—The Gentle Way to Reduce Mental Health Medication
Traditional tapering schedules often use equal dose cuts over time (for example, take 15 mg of a drug, then 10 mg, then 5 mg, then stop). But this “linear” approach doesn’t match how your brain’s receptors adapt.
Instead, we use what’s known as hyperbolic tapering—a gradual, nonlinear method where each reduction becomes smaller as the dose gets lower. This method respects your brain’s biology and helps prevent destabilization and, ultimately, crisis.
The process is fully personalized. Some patients may move through a taper in several months; others may take a year or more. The goal isn’t to rush—it’s to keep your mind and body stable at every step and to minimize the risk of an exacerbation of symptoms.
Step Three: Natural Support for Smoother Transitions
As you begin tapering, natural and functional medicine tools can make all the difference. These supports help your brain and body adjust more comfortably:
- Targeted nutrients – like magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and B vitamins, which support neurotransmitter balance and reduce tension.
- Adaptogenic herbs – such as Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, or Holy Basil to help the body adapt to stress.
- Amino acids – personalized to support neurotransmitter production, depending on your unique needs.
- Lifestyle tools – gentle movement, time in nature, prayer, and restorative sleep practices that regulate the nervous system naturally.
Each person’s plan is unique. In our practice, we tailor every supplement, food plan, and taper schedule to your biochemistry, your medications, and your body’s pace.
The Integrative Advantage
De-prescribing is safest and most effective when done under the guidance of a provider who understands both the medical and natural sides of psychiatry.
As a psychiatric nurse practitioner and naturopathic doctor, I bridge these worlds. I can evaluate your labs, understand your medication’s mechanism of action, and also address root causes like inflammation, hormone imbalance, or nutrient depletion naturally and effectively.
This integrative model empowers your body to heal while we safely adjust medications—so you can experience true mental wellness, not just symptom management.
What Deprescribing Looks Like in Our Arizona-Based Practice
Whether you’re in Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Tucson, Prescott, or Flagstaff, we offer telehealth appointments to people throughout Arizona. Here’s how our process typically unfolds:
- Comprehensive Assessment – We review your full mental and physical health picture, including labs, lifestyle, medications, and your goals.
- Body Optimization Phase – You’ll start implementing a personalized functional medicine plan to rebalance blood sugar, gut health, inflammation, and nutrient levels.
- Collaborative Tapering – Once your body is ready, we design a hyperbolic taper schedule that moves at your body’s pace.
- Natural Support and Monitoring – We use holistic supplementation and lifestyle strategies to support your nervous system and minimize withdrawal effects.
- Maintenance and Resilience – Once the taper is complete, we continue supporting your emotional and physical health naturally to prevent relapse.
A Hopeful Path Forward
If you’ve felt stuck on medications that no longer feel like “you,” or you’re wondering if your brain and body could function more freely, know this: healing is possible.
With the right preparation, gradual tapering, and natural support, deprescribing can be a profoundly empowering process. By addressing the root causes of imbalance—blood sugar, gut health, inflammation, and nutrient status—you give your body the foundation it needs to restore balance and thrive.
This way, instead of the goal being to simply to come off medication, it becomes to help your body remember how to find equilibrium naturally—so you can feel more like yourself again.
Ready to Learn More?
If you’re curious about natural and integrative approaches to deprescribing and you want to know whether this is the right path for you, enter your information below to receive a call from our team.
We’ll discuss your goals, answer your questions, and help you understand what safe, supported deprescribing could look like for you.
Your journey toward balance doesn’t have to be rushed—and you don’t have to do it alone. Whether you’re in Phoenix or anywhere in Arizona, we’re here to help your body and mind heal together—naturally.