Presidential Executive Orders Empower Psychiatry

On January 16, 2013, President Barack Obama said, “I will sign a directive giving law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals and the public health community some of the tools they need to help reduce gun violence.” The President went on to sign 23 executive orders implementing various aspects of this vision.

At the time of writing this newsletter, these executive orders have not yet been posted to the White House web site. However, we do know the general subject matter of several that readers of this newsletter may find of interest.

#14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.

#20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

#22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

#23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.

Occasionally, someone asks me why CCHR does not get rid of harmful mental health laws such as involuntary commitment or mental health insurance parity, or why CCHR has not replaced abusive psychiatric drug treatment with something that actually works, or why CCHR does not run hospitals where the mentally traumatized can recover in peace. My standard answer is, what are you doing to help get these things done?

CCHR depends on your grass roots participation: your volunteer work, your calls and letters to your legislators, your donations. It’s hard for most people to imagine the magnitude of the opposition to a sane and effective mental health system. Witness the Executive Orders described above: let’s just put more taxpayer money into the hands of the psychiatric mental health industry, who have already been proven to make matters worse, not better.

Are you interested in expressing your own points of view to the President, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services—Kathleen Sebelius, and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education—Arne Duncan? Feel free to let them know what you think; let us know what you said and if you got a response. You can find talking points about the violence and suicide caused by psychiatric drugs, for example, by clicking here.

Show the CCHR documentary DVDs to your family, your friends, your school boards, your religious groups, your civic organizations. You don’t have to prepare a speech – you only have to show a DVD; that’s why they were made, for broad public dissemination. Don’t count on CCHR showing them to your associates; that’s what CCHR is counting on from you! If you need a copy of a DVD, let us know — we can at least help you with that.

CCHR St. Louis will have an exhibit at the Missouri State Capitol Building Rotunda in Jefferson City (February 4-5), and at the Working Women’s Survival Show in St. Charles (February 22-24). Let us know if you’d like to help out; we can put to good use your volunteer presence and your donations.

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