WHAT IS THE CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS?
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is a nonprofit mental health watchdog, responsible for helping to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive practices. CCHR has long fought to restore basic inalienable human rights to the field of mental health, including, but not limited to, full informed consent regarding the medical legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosis, the risks of psychiatric treatments, the right to all available medical alternatives and the right to refuse any treatment considered harmful.
Dr. Thomas Szasz
CCHR was co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Dr. Thomas Szasz at a time when patients were being warehoused in institutions and stripped of all constitutional, civil and human rights.
CCHR: Defending Human Rights
CCHR functions solely as a mental health watchdog, working alongside many medical professionals including doctors, scientists, nurses and those few psychiatrists who have taken a stance against the biological/drug model of “disease” that is continually promoted by the psychiatric/pharmaceutical industry as a way to sell drugs.
It is a nonpolitical, nonreligious, nonprofit organization dedicated solely to eradicating mental health abuse and enacting patient and consumer protections. CCHR’s Board of Advisers, called Commissioners, include doctors, scientists, psychologists, lawyers, legislators, educators, business professionals, artists and civil and human rights representatives.
Educational Tools for the Public
People frequently ask if CCHR is of the opinion that no one should ever take psychiatric drugs, but the CCHR website is not dedicated to opinion. It is dedicated to providing information that a multi-billion dollar psycho/pharmaceutical industry does not want people to see or to know.
The real question therefore is this: Do people have a right to have all the information about (A) the known risks of the drugs and/or treatment from unbiased, non-conflicted medical review, (B) the medical validity of the diagnosis for which drugs are being prescribed, (C) all non-drug options (essentially informed consent) and (D) the right to refuse any treatment they consider harmful.
Factual Information to Keep the Public Safe
CCHR has worked for more than forty years for full informed consent in the field of mental health, and the right to all the information regarding psychiatric diagnoses and treatment, not just the information coming from those with a vested interest in keeping the public in the dark.
It is in this spirit that CCHR presents the world with videos, blogs, news, medical experts and information designed to arm the public with facts. As a nonprofit organization, it is through public donations that CCHR are able to continue their vital educational campaigns.
Hollywood filmmakers Bayou Bennett and Daniel Lir have been helping to fight for human rights for many years with their work, among more. Bayou Bennett states regarding the labels placed on children’s otherwise normal behavior, “I believe that there is no such thing as mental illness … kids are just being kids, and want to be active and be creative, and some of the most creative kids out there who are major stars – they wouldn’t be the brilliant artists they are if they were not supported and loved, and if someone put them on drugs and labeled them in a box.” Daniel Lir agrees, adding, “Some of our most brilliant artists, if they were drugged, they would not be able to create like they do. We support CCHR!”
Visit the official CCHR website and show your support at www.CCHR.org
This story has been made possible by the kind support of Directors Bayou Bennett and Daniel Lir. In 2007, the dynamic husband and wife filmmaker duo of Bayou Bennett and Daniel Lir founded Dream Team Directors. Their vision was to combine imagination, humor, beauty and a desire to positively impact the world through their stunning creative work. To learn more about Bayou Bennett and Daniel Lir, visit: www.dreamteamdirectors.com
This content (with the exception of the quote in italics) is copyright CCHR, 2017, all rights reserved. CCHR and reporter Bruce Edwin do not endorse any alternate party advertising or links that may be found on or in connection with this story.
