CCHR Working to Clean Up Mental Health in Florida

The fact that Florida’s mental health care system is broken is well known but the solutions presented do not address the abuse within the system and this is evident in the almost 85% increase in the number of involuntary examinations from 2003 to 2015.

Clearwater, United States – October 10, 2016 /PressCable/ —

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a non-profit mental health watchdog dedicated to the eradication of abuses committed under the guise of mental health, has filed over 600 complaints on psychiatric abuse in Florida in an ongoing effort to clean up the field of mental health.

As a non-profit mental health watchdog that has, for 47 years, worked to protect patients’ rights, CCHR receives numerous reports, through its investigations and otherwise, of alleged abuse or fraud and the Florida chapter unfortunately receives a high number of abuse complaints. In 2016 alone, CCHR Florida filed over 600 complaints with the appropriate government agencies in an effort to clean up psychiatric abuse and crimes in the state.

“A significant percentage of the population is sent for involuntary examination every year with the increase in the numbers of involuntary exam initiations greater than Florida’s population increase and continuing to rise,” stated Diane Stein, President of CCHR Florida. “In 2015 there were 193,410 involuntary examinations and over 32,000 were on children.” [1]

With an almost 85% increase in the number of involuntary examinations from 2003 to 2015, the fact that Florida’s mental health care system is broken is well known but the solutions presented do not address the abuse and crime within the system.

CCHR has a psychiatric abuse hotline that receives complaints from people who have been abused in the mental health care system. The types of abuse range from unjust involuntary examination to over drugging, sexual assault and even death. The hotline is manned with staff trained in the mental health law, commonly known as the Baker Act, through the Florida Department of Children and Families and they strive to not only educate callers on their rights under the law but also offer up resources where the abuse victim can seek any other needed help.

“We receive too many calls from victims whose rights have been violated or who were harmed in the system,” said Diane Stein. “Filing complaints on the behalf of these victims is just one facet of the actions we are taking to change the mental health system and protect patients and all citizens under the law.”

Victims of psychiatric abuse, as well as their friends and family, are encouraged to call the hotline at 800-782-2878, fill out an abuse case report form on the CCHR website or come into the center at 109 N. Fort Harrison which is open from 10am until 10pm seven days a week. The assistance provided by CCHR is free of charge and incidents of abuse are held in confidence.

About CCHR:

Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHR’s mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections.

It was L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who brought the terror of psychiatric imprisonment to the notice of the world. In March 1969, he said, “Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the ‘free world’ tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of ‘mental health.’”

After discovering that 55 percent of foster children in Florida had been prescribed powerful mind-altering psychotropic drugs, CCHR documented the abuse to the health department, which initiated changes that led to a 75 percent reduction in prescriptions for children under six.

Considered a potentially abusive, marketing tool for psychiatrists, CCHR Florida led the charge that got “Teen Screen”, mental health screening of school children, banned from Pinellas County schools in 2005.

SOURCES:

[1] ANNUAL REPORT OF BAKER ACT DATA Summary of 2015 Data Prepared for the Agency for Health Care Administration by Annette Christy, Ph.D. & Christina Guenther, B.A. Department of Mental Health Law & Policy de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute College of Behavioral and Community Sciences University of South Florida

For more information, please visit http://www.cchrflorida.org/

Contact Info:
Name: Diane Stein
Email: publicaffairs@cchrflorida.org
Organization: Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida
Address: 109 N. Fort Harrison Ave
Phone: (727) 442-8820

Release ID: 135749