Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary

"Two psychiatry organizations the Southern California Psychiatry Society and the recently formed grassroots Committee to Protect Public Mental Health have released statements saying that the actions of the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services have increased stigma, instilled fear and hurt access to mental health and addiction care. "As physicians committed to evidence-based care, we are alarmed by the direction of HHS under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr," the Committee to Protect Public Mental Health said in a statement."

"HHS responds "Secretary Kennedy remains firmly committed to delivering on President Trump's promise to Make America Healthy Again by dismantling the failed status quo, restoring public trust in health institutions, and ensuring the transparency, accountability, and decision-making power the American people voted for," Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the federal health department, wrote to NPR in an email."

"In recent years, the federal government had taken a leading role in funding efforts to address serious mental illness and substance use through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administrations (SAMHSA), notes Dr. Steven Sharfstein, a past-president of the American Psychiatric Association and an adjunct professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University. Those efforts had started to pay off, he adds. "There's been great progress in reducing the number of overdose deaths in the country as a result of these initiatives," he says."

Psychiatrists and public health groups have called for removal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, saying his actions increased stigma, instilled fear, and hurt access to mental health and addiction care. The Southern California Psychiatry Society and the grassroots Committee to Protect Public Mental Health issued formal statements expressing alarm and commitment to evidence-based care. HHS defended Kennedy's agenda to dismantle the status quo and restore public trust. Critics point to recent staff firings and efforts to shutter SAMHSA as measures that have undermined federal initiatives that were helping reduce overdose deaths and expand services.

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