The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) opened its traveling exhibit in downtown St. Paul on Monday, drawing a crowd eager to learn about the history and current abuses in the mental health field. The exhibit, titled “Psychiatry an Industry of Death,” features 14 graphic panels and 13 short documentaries that illustrate the commission’s claims about psychiatric practices.
Held at the Nova Event Hall on St Peter St, the exhibit’s opening included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with guest speakers who detailed abuses occurring in mental hospitals, particularly involving civil commitments. According to the speakers, patients are often held against their will, drugged without informed consent, and subjected to other human rights violations.
Dr. Patrice Nerad, the main speaker, called for the formation of a coalition to change Minnesota’s civil commitment laws, aiming to protect patients from harm. The CCHR Minnesota chapter will assist Dr. Nerad in establishing and guiding this coalition. The event underscored the need for legislative reform to ensure that mental health treatments respect patient rights.
CCHR, an international watchdog over the psychiatric industry since 1969, has worked globally to change legislation that it says curtails psychiatric advances into educational systems and society. The commission’s most recent documentary addresses the causes of violence in society, particularly mass shootings in schools and public events, asserting that psychiatric drugs are a contributing factor.
For more information, visit the CCHR website, or watch documentaries on the work of CCHR volunteers in countries around the world and the film Psychiatry: An Industry of Death on the Scientology Network.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights was co-founded in 1969 by professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz and the Church of Scientology. CCHR Commissioners include physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, lawyers, legislators, government officials, educators, and civil rights representatives. The commission is inspired by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard’s commitment to abolishing physically damaging practices in the field of mental health.
