LOS ANGELES - TelAve -- By CCHR International

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) International and its Bay Area chapters gathered outside the American Psychiatric Association's annual convention at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, on May 16, to urge adoption of policies to eliminate coercive mental health interventions, including electroshock treatment and psychotropic drugs linked to violent side effects.

One seminar at the convention, titled "Care Without Coercion," acknowledged that seclusion and restraint continue as standard practices in many psychiatric settings despite their potential for trauma and harm.

CCHR expressed concern about recent psychiatric associations supporting the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT or electroshock) on children and the application of this without consent. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has classified non-consensual electroshock as a form of torture.[1] The World Health Organization has stated there are no indications for its use in minors and should be prohibited.

CCHR noted its historical role in advocating for protections, including the first ban on ECT for children in California in 1976, followed by a prohibition on minors in Texas in 1993 and in Western Australia in 2014, where violations can result in criminal penalties.

The organization also drew attention to potential risks associated with psychiatric drugs, particularly in cases involving individuals subject to involuntary commitment or court-ordered mental health diversion programs, in lieu of jail.

A new CCHR report examines 145 cases of senseless violence linked to individuals taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs, resulting in 720 deaths and 1,602 injuries. These incidents encompass various forms of violence. The report indicates that while not all individuals experience such effects, a subset may. In one case, a 10-year-old California boy on an antidepressant stabbed his 12-year-old friend to death in 2012. In another case, a 6-year-old Virginia boy on ADHD drugs shot and wounded his teacher in 2023.[2]

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Coinciding with the protest, CCHR opened its acclaimed "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" exhibit, at which its latest documentary, Prescription for Violence, was available. Addressing the opening, prominent California trial attorney, Brent Wisher, joined the call for mandatory toxicology testing in incidents of mass violence and supported further investigation by the National Institutes of Health into this issue. He stated, "We cannot ignore this issue anymore. People do not normally commit mass murder. It is inhuman." Mr. Wisner warns that "long-term use of antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs allows dehumanization. It allows dark thoughts to take over, and violence can ensue."

Wisner's firm helped a Texas attorney secure a 2001 verdict in which a jury found an antidepressant 80% responsible for a man killing his wife, daughter, and granddaughter—then himself—after just two days on the drug.[3]

Beyond psychiatric drugs, CCHR also reviewed the promotional materials from more than 50 psychiatric facilities offering ECT. Many descriptions were found to minimize potential risks for a procedure delivering 360 volts of electricity through the brain.

Examples included comparisons to "jump-starting a car battery," likening the procedure to turning a computer on and off, and being "no worse than going to the dentist."

None disclosed all of the recommended adverse effects that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined were necessary for informed consent, including the requirement that ECT device manufacturers warn that the long-term safety and effectiveness of ECT have not been demonstrated. In a sample of five San Francisco-area hospitals, none disclosed the potential for permanent memory loss or the need for neuropsychological testing to evaluate cognitive effects before, during, and after treatment.

Relapse rates following treatment range up to 84%, often leading to ongoing maintenance sessions, frequently combined with psychotropic drugs.[4] Studies associate ECT with extended inpatient hospital stays, ranging from 4 to 29 additional days, contributing to higher healthcare costs—estimated between $5,700 and $52,700 more per patient in some analyses compared to non-ECT treatment. Early 1990s data estimated ECT was a $2–3 billion per year industry, equivalent today to $5.05–$7.6 billion, adjusted for inflation.[5]

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Legal developments have addressed potential brain damage. In a California Supreme Court case won by the Wisner Baum law firm, arguments established that an ECT device manufacturer has a duty to warn physicians about risks, including brain damage and permanent memory loss.[6] In another California federal court ruling in October 2018, evidence was deemed sufficient for a jury to consider whether an ECT device caused brain injury.[7]

CCHR has documented cases through public records requests showing ECT administration to children as young as five in several states. While one psychiatric facility cautions against use in children and adolescents due to ongoing brain development, others have downplayed such concerns.

Despite substantial investment—$139.6 billion on mental health and substance use services in 2021, representing a 241% increase since 2000—outcomes are exceedingly poor, according to a recent Congressional roundtable.

Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International, said: "The American psychiatric system has failed spectacularly. After decades of mass drugging and electroshocking vulnerable individuals and prescribing drugs with the potential of triggering violence, we face billions wasted on worsening mental health outcomes. It's time to end the abuse and coercion."

CCHR is a nonprofit mental health watchdog organization dedicated to exposing and correcting human rights violations in the field of mental health. Founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Thomas Szasz, CCHR has helped secure hundreds of laws protecting patient rights.

Sources:

[1] "Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez," General Assembly, Human Rights Council, 1 Feb. 2013

[2] "I'm the mother of a 10-year-old murderer…" Daily Mail, 20 Oct. 2013 "Mother of 6-year-old who shot Virginia teacher says son has ADHD," ABC 30 Action News, 10 May 2023

[3] "Jury Finds Glaxo to Blame in Shooting," Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2001

[4] "Relapse Following Successful Electroconvulsive Therapy for Major Depression: A Meta-Analysis," Neuropsychopharmacology, Nov 2013; Relapse Prevention after Index Electroconvulsive Therapy…," Ann Clin Psychiatry, Nov. 2014

[5] "Electroshock: Death, Brain Damage, Memory Loss, and Brainwashing," Journal of Mind and Behavior, 1990

[6] www.wisnerbaum.com/defective-medical-device-injuries/ect/

[7] David Karen, "ECT Litigation Update: Are Patients Being Warned of Brain Damage Risk?" 13 June 2019