Harm Reduction Guide To Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs & Withdrawal

The Icarus Project and Freedom Center's 40-page guide gathers the best information we've come across and the most valuable lessons we've learned about reducing and coming off psychiatric medication. Includes info on mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, risks, benefits, wellness tools, psychiatric drug withdrawal, information for people staying on their medications, detailed Resource section, and much more. A 'harm reduction' approach means not being pro- or anti-medication, but supporting people to make their own decisions balancing the risks and benefits involved. Written by Will Hall, with a 53-member health professional Advisory Board providing research assistance and many other collaborators involved in developing and editing. The guide has photographs and art throughout, and a beautiful original cover painting by Jacks McNamara.

Download a .pdf to read below. It is also easy to use the printer version to print and fold into a booklet (instructions below) for yourself.

You can also print multiple copies to distribute, or send to a print shop for color copies and stapling.

Now in a revised and expanded Second Edition.

Note that the guide is Creative Commons copyright and you are free to copy and distribute for non-commercial purposes, as long as you credit the source and don't alter it.

Download and read the Guide. 

Download a printer version, with scrambled pages ready to fold.

Download simple assembly instructions for the printer version.

Available in Spanish... Disponible en Castellano/ Espanol.

Also available in German.

Also available in Greek

Also available in Bosnia/Croatian

Download a one-page flyer about the guide with ordering instructions.

Read about the making of the Guide.

Audio talk on Coming Off Medications from 2009 Hearing Voices Congress

Direct link this page:
http://theicarusproject.net/HarmReductionGuideComingOffPsychDrugs

If you are looking for more information and support on psychiatric medication options including coming off / withdrawal, please see the Icarus coming off forums, the website Beyond Meds, the UK website ComingOff.com, and this audio on "Coming Off Medications".