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

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

Rhitu Chatterjee

October 06, 2025 / 1:04 pm

Psychiatrists have joined other public health groups in calling for the removal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 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 .