A slow taper with support kept relapse as low as staying on the drug
Across 76 trials, tapering over more than four weeks with talking support halved relapse compared with stopping abruptly. A slow taper on its own did not clearly beat stopping abruptly.
What the study found
A slow taper with support held off relapse as well as staying on
Across 76 trials, a taper of over four weeks with psychological support halved relapse against abrupt stopping, matching continuation; a slow taper alone did not clearly beat stopping abruptly. In one review, therapy plus a taper got 40 to 95% off the drug; a letter to the GP got 6 to 7%.
The caveat · Relapse may have been withdrawal
The outcome is relapse, and in the underlying trials relapse was not reliably told apart from withdrawal. Slow means longer than four weeks, not the months-long schedules now advised. Venlafaxine was not separated from other antidepressants. The therapy comparison rests on two studies.