Nearly half of long-term antidepressant users can stop using the medication with support from their doctor and access to internet or telephone helplines alone, according to a study.
Scientists found that more than 40% of people involved in the research who were well and not at risk of relapse managed to come off the drugs with advice from their doctors.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open and led by the universities of Southampton, Liverpool and Hull York Medical School, also discovered patients who could access online support and psychologists by phone had lower rates of depression, fewer withdrawal symptoms, and reported better mental wellbeing.
Earlier this month, the largest study of its kind found around one in six people who stop antidepressants will experience withdrawal symptoms as a direct result of the medicine – lower than previous estimates.
Analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry found 15% of patients will experience one or more discontinuation symptoms that are directly caused by stopping the drugs, while around 2-3% will suffer severe symptoms.
Previous research has suggested much higher rates of withdrawal symptoms, with 56% of all patients affected, though experts have said this figure is not robust.
In the Lancet research on 21,000 people, the most commonly used antidepressants in the UK were found to have the lowest rates of withdrawal symptoms throughout the study.
Stopping antidepressants can lead to various symptoms or none at all.
The most frequently reported are dizziness, headache, nausea, insomnia and irritability.
Professor Tony Kendrick from Southampton, who was the lead author of the new research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), said the findings were significant as they showed high numbers of patients withdrawing from the drugs without the need for costly intense therapy sessions.
"This approach could eliminate the risk of serious side effects for patients using antidepressants for long periods who have concerns about withdrawal."