CCHR joins survivors of electroshock torture in NZ in condemning a very late apology issued by a psychiatric association, spanning half a century of neglecting the abuse endured. The group wants justice for victims of similar abuse in the U.S. The U.S.-based Citizens Commission on Human Rights International joined former child victims of psychiatric electroshock … Read more
Subjecting 100,000 Americans, including children, to electroshock (ECT) constitutes torture, given the risks associated with it, CCHR says. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting human rights in the field of mental health, is raising alarm over the dangers associated with Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), commonly known as electroshock. … Read more
Mental health watchdog advises that recent global mental health human rights guideline warns electroshock can cause brain damage, citing U.S. manual. Electroconvulsive therapy, commonly known as electroshock or ECT, is being given to an estimated 100,000 Americans each year—and 1.4 million worldwide[1]—despite global health authorities’ recognition that it causes brain damage. The World Health Organization … Read more
Massachusetts is set to ban skin electroshock aversion therapy, described as torture by the UN, signaling the urgent need for a nationwide end to all electroshock use. A Massachusetts state bill that would prohibit painful and abusive behavior modification, involving the use of electroshock, could set a national precedent if passed, according to the Citizens … Read more
Mental Health Watchdog CCHR points out patients are misled about the adverse effects of electroshock, including permanent memory loss and brain damage. Experts have warned that more than 50% of patients given electroshock treatment, also known as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT, may suffer permanent memory loss and that leaflets about the procedure’s risks fail to … Read more
CCHR says thousands of Americans have been misled that electroshock treatment and its devices are FDA-approved, reinforcing group’s demand to ban ECT entirely. Electroshock treatment, also known as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT, is documented to cause debilitating and severe side effects, yet according to Mental Health America, it is given to 100,000 Americans, including children, … Read more
Mental health watchdog says a recent UK recognition that electroshock treatment should be banned is needed in the U.S., where 100,000 Americans, including children as young as 5, are electroshocked each year. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, a 54-year mental health industry watchdog based in Los Angeles, has welcomed the United Kingdom government … Read more
Mental health watchdog says new study on electroshock and increased suicide risks reinforces calls for a nationwide ban. A recent study published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica found that after receiving electroshock, also known as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), patients were 44 times more likely to die by suicide than people in the general population.[1] The mental health industry watchdog, … Read more
CCHR calls on Massachusetts legislators to ban the use of electroshock for behavioral punishment, and not wait for the FDA to prohibit the shock device, under new Congressional law. We cannot wait until the FDA acts given its history of delays, while today children are still being tortured in the name of “therapy.” For more … Read more
RANZCP’s Trite “Apology” to the Lake Alice Survivors A “weak, pathetic waste of words,” one victim called it In June 2022, New Zealand police confirmed they had identified 136 former patients of the now-closed psychiatric facility, Lake Alice hospital, who had received electroshock (electroconvulsive therapy or ECT) without anesthetic as punishment. This was the third … Read more