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...
Almost 410,000 Reached in a Campaign to Protect Children and Parental Rights
Viewed as a statewide problem, the number of children sent for involuntary psychiatric examinations, called a Baker Act, has been steadily climbing for almost two decades and with many parents only finding out their child has been taken into custody after the fact, it...
Mental Health Watchdog Applauds Call for Independent Enquiry into Electroconvulsive Therapy
According to a post published in Psychology Today by John Read, Ph.D., a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of East London, “forty experts (including researchers, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals” have written the Minister for Health...
Evidence Points to Misuse of the Baker Act with Devastating Results for Children
As reported in multiple news stories, a recently released 85-page study found that “the Baker Act is increasingly being used on school children who make jokes, act out, exhibit normal manifestations of a known disability, or express ordinary sadness.” This same study...
Watchdog Calls into Question Reliance on Risk Assessments During Suicide Awareness Month
Each year September is recognized as Suicide Awareness Month with September 6th through the 12th observed as National Suicide Prevention Week. The stated intention of these campaigns is to “inform and engage health professionals and the general public about suicide...
Watchdog Campaign to Restore Parental Rights Reaches Over 370,000
Recognized across the state for helping parents whose children have been taken to a psychiatric facility for involuntary examination under Florida’s mental health law, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) launched a public information campaign earlier this...
Florida Psychiatrist Convicted of Disability Fraud and Tax Evasion
Evaded Paying Taxes on Over $1.6 Million in Income Earned While Claiming to be Disabled Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 "A South Florida doctor residing in Hobe Sound, Florida, was sentenced to 51 months in prison yesterday...
Florida Getting $3.7 Million Following a Multistate Health Care Investigation
By FLORIDA DAILY - 07.24.20 "On Thursday, state Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that Florida will receive millions of dollars following a massive multi-state health care fraud investigation. Florida, along with 49 states, territories and the federal...
Staffer sexually abused 19-year-old at Tampa Community Hospital, lawsuit says
The woman, who was not named in the lawsuit, was admitted on June 3, 2018 to undergo a mental health evaluation. She was then sexually groomed and abused by employee Frank Lasso during her five-day stay, according to the lawsuit. It was filed in Hillsborough Circuit...
Mental Health Fraud Exacts High Human and Financial Costs
Mental Health Fraud Exacts High Human and Financial Costs March 11, 2016 Andria Jacobs, RN, MS, CEN, CPHQ "The United States loses approximately $100 billion to healthcare fraud annually. Up to $20 billion dollars are due to fraudulent practices in the mental health...
Study Reveals that Anxiety, Depression and PTSD may be Adaptive Responses to Adversity Not Mental Disorders
As reported in an article in Forbes titled, Researchers Doubt That Certain Mental Disorders Are Disorders At All, a recent study questioned the validity of labeling depression, anxiety and even ADHD as mental disorders. [1] The researchers in the study based their...
Recent Study Calls Psychological Assessments “Junk Science”
In a campaign to remove the stigma attached to mental illness, advocates have created numerous observance days, weeks and months which is why August is known as “National Health Center Week”. This observance week focuses on treatment and education with the underlying...
Mental Health Watchdog Reaches Over 330,000 in Campaign to Protect Parental Rights
Recognized across the state for their work in helping parents whose children have been taken to a psychiatric facility for involuntary examination under Florida’s mental health law, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has launched a social media campaign...
Tens of Thousands of Children Detained for Involuntary Psychiatric Examination Annually
The number of children taken into custody for an involuntary psychiatric examination has been steadily increasing in Florida for almost two decades and according to the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), this steady increase is...
Mental Health Watchdog Warns Against Psychotropic Drug Self-Care During Pandemic
Based on documented studies, the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a watchdog organization that investigates and exposes abuse within the mental health industry, is warning the public about the dangers of psychotropic drug...
Mental Health Watchdog Renews Call for a Ban on Electroshock Device
In the wake of a recent study published in the journal Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry calling for the use of electroshock treatment (ECT) to be suspended immediately due to the risk of side effects such as brain damage, the Florida chapter of the mental...
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