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
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
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
In another psychiatric treatment failure, a new study shows electroshock fails to prevent suicide, with over 800 deaths within a year in those receiving it. As with patients prescribed antidepressants, those receiving electroshock have been misled that electroshock corrects imbalanced brain chemicals. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reinforces that electroshock treatment … Read more
CCHR NZ spoke before a government inquiry about exposing decades of abuse where patients were electroshocked and drugged in the mental health system; psychiatric experimental treatment, and a litany of deaths. The Royal Commission heard of “children being raped, patients being over-medicated and a level of dehumanization akin to concentration camps.” Citizens Commission on Human … Read more
Company dismisses ECT dangers and, instead, blames ECT critics and lawsuits for its financial demise; CCHR accuses MECTA of ignoring damaging adverse effects of shock treatment. MECTA Corp., one of the USA’s two manufacturers of electroshock machines, filed for bankruptcy following lawsuits related to the company’s SpECTrum device. MECTA (Monitored Electro-Convulsive Therapy Apparatus) cited lawsuits, … Read more