News
Debunking the Myths Surrounding Suicide Assessments and Suicide Rates
Each year an average of 44,965 people commit suicide in the United States making it the 10th leading cause of death for Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide deaths were more than double those due to homicides in 2015,...
CCHR Urges Overhaul of the FDA, Charging Approval of Electroshock Device Creates Harm
Summing up a five-part series of articles exposing the dangers of electroshock treatment (ECT) on its public information blog, TruthAboutECT, mental health watchdog, Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) calls for an overhaul of the Food and Drug...
Baker Act? Protect Your Children with 5 Simple Steps! (Covid-19 – Hotline is Open)
The mental health law in Florida was amended in 2017 to offer better protection for minors and while CCHR applauds Florida lawmakers for taking action to protect children during involuntary psychiatric examination more work is needed to fully restore human rights. As...
Predicting & Preventing Suicide
Predicting & Preventing Suicide In 2018, there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts and more than 48,000 deaths by suicide, making it the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.[i] Recent world events have placed a tremendous amount of...
Mental Health Watchdog Hosts Baker Act Continuing Education Course in Campaign to Protect Citizens from Abuse
The virtual course identifies the basic human rights impacted by the Baker Act, areas of abuse and the unintended consequences. Almost 25 years ago the Florida Supreme Court issued an Executive Summary following a review of the use of the Baker Act. In this report,...
Tens of Thousands of Children Taken into Custody: The Baker Act Must Be Reformed
Baker Act abuse runs rampant and calls for reformation are resounding from press to parents. CCHR says it is time for change, one that is a long time coming. Fifty years of Baker Act abuse and maltreatment is more than enough for Florida citizens, practitioners, and...
Why Florida Needs to Revisit and Reform the Mental Health Law
There is the equivalent of one hundred Baker Acts initiated on children every day of the year. It is no wonder that parents are incensed. Where did it go wrong? Florida’s Mental Health Act of 1971 was designed and meant to protect an individual's rights and due...
Experts Warn – Psychiatric Drugs May Cause More Harm Than Help
Studies have suggested that psychiatric drugs may do more harm than good, especially in the long-term. Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of medication primarily used to manage psychosis, principally in schizophrenia but also in a range of other...
Information Withheld Concerning Safety of Antidepressants
Reports show that vital information regarding the safety of antidepressants has been suppressed by pharmaceutical companies. The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), is concerned that vital information has been withheld from the medical...
The Horrors of Addiction – Craving Psychotropics
By far one of the most insidious addictions is one that is started with a doctor’s prescription pad -- for example opioids and psychotropics. The myriad of negative side-effects of psychotropic drugs has often been reported. There is one aspect that has not received...
Psychiatric Drugs and Side Effects – The Unseen Hand Behind Violence in America
Close to 17% of Americans are taking psychiatric drugs with side effects such as acting aggressively, being angry, or violent and acting on dangerous impulses. According to the United Health Foundation there were over 1.2 million acts of violent crime in 2018...
America’s Hidden Epidemic: Psychiatric Drugs, Addiction and Suicide
There is growing concern that psychiatric drugs, fueled by exorbitant mental health spending, are being over prescribed and are causing more harm than what is being publicized. [1] The pharmaceutical companies and the psychiatric community pocket some $62 billion on...
The Myth of Holiday Suicides: CDC Reports that the Suicide Rate is Lowest in December
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that the holiday suicide myth supports misinformation about suicide and might actually hinder prevention efforts. Suicide is a recognized problem in the United States and it does not seem to be improving despite the...
WUSF Series Investigates the Fastest Growing Group Under the Baker Act, Children
The series explores the how outraged parents and advocates are fighting to stop the abusive use of this law on children. WUSF recently completed a five-part series regarding Florida’s mental health law also known as the Baker Act. Although this law was not written for...
Report Reveals a Record Number of Children Taken into Custody for Involuntary Psychiatric Examinations
Over 37,000 involuntary examinations, called a Baker Act, were initiated on children in Florida during 2018/2019. According to a report released this week by the Baker Act Reporting Center, there were over 210,000 involuntary psychiatric examinations initiated during...
Campaign Exposing Mental Health Human Rights Abuse Reaches Over 500,000
Watchdog organization is calling the abusive use of the Baker Act a serious threat to mental health human rights in Florida. The most recent report on involuntary psychiatric examinations in Florida disclosed that there were over 200,000 during 2017/2018. This same...
Baker Act Continuing Mental Health Education Course Helps Protect Human Rights
The virtual course identifies the basic human rights impacted by the Baker Act, areas of abuse and the unintended consequences. The Florida mental health law, commonly called the Baker Act, has been a source of statewide abuse as reported repeatedly in the media....
Baker Act Abuse
Florida's Baker Act in the News The Baker Acting of children in Florida is not "new" news. In fact, the abusive use of this law has been making headlines for years. Some of these stories go viral and reach national and international audiences. Below are 28 examples of...
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