Citizens Commission on Human Rights of St. Louis

A recent review of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, or shock treatment) has concluded that ECT is so harmful, with so little or no benefit, that its use cannot be scientifically justified.

This paper, “The effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy: A literature review,” by Professors John Read and Richard Bentall, appeared in the April 19, 2010 issue of Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale.

Quoting from the paper’s Summary: “These placebo controlled studies show minimal support for effectiveness with either depression or ‘schizophrenia’ during the course of treatment (i.e. only for some patients, on some measures, sometimes perceived only by psychiatrists but not by other raters), and no evidence, for either diagnostic group, of any benefits beyond the treatment period. There are no placebo-controlled studies evaluating the hypothesis that ECT prevents suicide, and no robust evidence from other kinds of studies to support the hypothesis. Conclusions – Given the strong evidence (summarised here) of persistent and, for some, permanent brain dysfunction, primarily evidenced in the form of retrograde [loss of memory for past events] and anterograde [inability to retain new information] amnesia, and the evidence of a slight but significant increased risk of death, the cost-benefit analysis for ECT is so poor that its use cannot be scientifically justified.”

There are “significant new findings confirming that the brain damage, in the form of memory dysfunction, is common, persistent and significant, and that it is related to ECT rather than to depression.”

The authors go on to say, “The continued use of ECT therefore represents a failure to introduce the ideals of evidence-based medicine into psychiatry. This failure has occurred not only in the design and execution of research, but also in the translation of research findings into clinical practice. It seems there is resistance to the research data in the ECT community, and perhaps in psychiatry in general.”

For more information, download and read the free CCHR report, “Psychiatry Destroys Minds – ECT: The Brutal Reality” from http://www.cchrstl.org/ect.shtml.

Notice: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has opened a public docket (FDA-2010-N-0585) to receive information and comments regarding the classification of electroconvulsive therapy devices (ECT.) In other words, the FDA wants to classify ECT machines as safe and effective medical devices. If you have comments regarding the safety of ECT machines, they must be filed by January 25, 2011. Obviously, these machines are not safe, seeing the outright harm they cause to individuals; please let the FDA know what you think. Submit written comments and information to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Submit electronic comments and information to http://www.regulations.gov by searching for Docket FDA-2010-N-0585 and clicking the Submit a Comment button for the “Neurological Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting.”

A recent article in Nature magazine [“The Drug Deadlock” 11/11/2010] had some interesting comments on psychiatric drugs and drug research.

In January, 2005 a four-year $43 million clinical trial of schizophrenia drugs ended, making it clear that newer psychiatric drugs were barely different than the old ones.

They ran this drug trial because the old drugs had horrific side effects, and they wanted to compare those old drugs to the newer drugs. What they found, and did not expect, was that the side effects of the new drugs were just as bad. Overall, three-quarters of the patients abandoned their drug during the trial due to side effects, regardless of which drug they took.

Within a few years, several large drug companies chose to pull out of psychiatric pharmacology altogether in order to cut costs.

Now, however, drug companies are looking again at schizophrenia drug research, because schizophrenia represents a huge potential market, particularly given that most patients seem to manifest such symptoms in their early twenties and could be on daily drugs for the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, schizophrenia is not a real mental disease, and psychiatric drugs are not a real cure.

This condition was first called dementia praecox by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin in the late 1800’s, and labeled “schizophrenia” by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1908.

Robert Whitaker, author of Mad in America, says the patients that Kraepelin diagnosed with dementia praecox were actually suffering from a virus, encephalitis lethargica (brain inflammation causing lethargy) which was unknown to doctors at the time.

Psychiatry never revisited Kraepelin’s material to see that schizophrenia was simply an undiagnosed and untreated physical problem. “Schizophrenia was a concept too vital to the profession’s claim of medical legitimacy. The physical symptoms of the disease were quietly dropped. What remained, as the foremost distinguishing features, were the mental symptoms: hallucinations, delusions, and bizarre thoughts,” says Whitaker. Psychiatrists remain committed to calling “schizophrenia” a mental disease despite, after a century of research, the complete absence of objective proof that it exists as a physical brain abnormality.

Today, psychiatry clings tenaciously to antipsychotics as the treatment for “schizophrenia,” despite their proven risks and studies which show that when patients stop taking these drugs, they improve.

Professor Thomas Szasz states that “schizophrenia is defined so vaguely that, in actuality, it is a term often applied to almost any kind of behavior of which the speaker disapproves.”

These are normal people with medical, disciplinary, educational, or spiritual problems that can and must be resolved without recourse to drugs. Deceiving and drugging is not the practice of medicine. It is criminal.

No one denies that people can have difficult problems in their lives, that at times they can be mentally unstable, subject to unreasonable depression, anxiety or panic. Mental health care is therefore both valid and necessary. However, the emphasis must be on workable mental healing methods that improve and strengthen individuals and thereby society by restoring people to personal strength, ability, competence, confidence, stability, responsibility and spiritual well–being. Psychiatric drugs and psychiatric treatments are not workable.

For more information, download and read the free CCHR report, Schizophrenia—Psychiatry’s For Profit ‘Disease’ – available at http://www.cchrstl.org/schizophrenia.shtml.

A recent research article [Moore TJ, Glenmullen J, Furberg CD (2010) Prescription Drugs Associated with Reports of Violence Towards Others. PLoS ONE 5(12): e15337. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015337] has concluded that “acts of violence towards others are a genuine and serious adverse drug event … Varenicline … and serotonin reuptake inhibitors were the most strongly and consistently implicated drugs.”

Varenicline (also known as Champix or Chantix) is a benzodiazepine-based anti-anxiety drug promoted for smoking cessation. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors are psychotropic drugs known as “newer antidepressants.”

More information about the side effects of these drugs can be found at http://www.cchrstl.org/sideeffects.shtml.

It should be noted that these drugs mask the real cause of problems in life and debilitate the individual, so denying him or her the opportunity for real recovery and hope for the future.

Psychiatrists fraudulently diagnose life’s problems as “mental illness” for which they can prescribe harmful and addictive drugs. Let others know how bad this is. Get the Facts. Fight Back.

Exposing the Psychiatric Diagnosis Fraud

One prevailing psychiatric theory (key to psychotropic drug sales) is that mental disorders result from a chemical imbalance in the brain. As with its other theories, there is no biological or other evidence to prove this. People do experience problems and upsets in life that may result in mental troubles, sometimes very serious. But to represent that these troubles are caused by incurable “brain diseases” that can only be alleviated with dangerous pills is dishonest, harmful and often deadly.

Such drugs are often more potent than a narcotic and capable of driving one to violence or suicide. They mask the real cause of problems in life and debilitate the individual, so denying him or her the opportunity for real recovery and hope for the future. Dr. David Stein exposes this psychiatric diagnosis fraud in this week’s Watchdog Radio show.

Click
here to watch the video »

Help someone who has been a victim of psychiatric abuse – make a tax deductible donation to CCHR St. Louis!

Dear CCHR St. Louis Supporter,

A major thrust of CCHR’s work this year has been to curb and halt the widespread psychiatric labeling and drugging of children.

Please take a moment to watch this short video on child drugging, created by CCHR to raise awareness of this critical issue, and then please make a tax-deductible year-end donation to CCHR St. Louis to help continue the fight for kids.

Psychology as a Weapon in Custody Cases

Psychologists and other mental health counselors employed or assigned by family courts have the power to affect the lives of parents and children for better or worse. One such way they overstep their boundaries is
through Parent Alienation Syndrome (PAS). PAS is an alleged (and thoroughly discredited) “mental disorder” applied to one parent in a divorce-custody matter by the opposing party’s psychological expert in the following manner: “The child(ren) are fearful of or angry at Parent B (my client). It appears that Parent A has been telling the child(ren) negative things about my client in an effort to make the child(ren) fear my client, refuse visitation with him, etc. These efforts are proof that Parent A has PAS and so should not have custody of the child(ren).”

Use of this “diagnosis” sometimes obscures the fact that there may be documented reasons or logical foundations for the child(ren)’s fears or the parent’s concern, such as actual sexual abuse, domestic violence or the opposing parent’s criminal record.

Attorney Andrew J. Thompson is this week’s Watchdog Radio show guest and he discusses the overreach of therapists in custody cases.

Psychiatrist on Payroll of Glaxo Pleads Guilty to Research Fraud

A psychiatrist on the payroll of GlaxoSmithKline has been sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to committing research fraud in trials of the company’s antidepressant Paxil on children.

Read the full article here.

Wyeth Execs Can’t Hide Behind Silence on Antidepressant Data

A lawsuit that alleges Wyeth executives told a series of lies about the antidepressant Pristiq — suggesting that it was a good treatment for post-menopause hot-flashes when they were sitting on study data showing a risk of heart and liver problems — gives new guidance to management on what counts as a false or misleading disclosure to investors.

Read the full article here.

A nutritional approach to psychiatry has been marginalized

A small branch of psychiatry called orthomolecular psychiatry which uses natural remedies has been developed over the last few decades to wean mental patients off pharmaceuticals. Of course, the American Psychiatric Association Big Pharma shills have thoroughly denounced the orthomolecular approach as “snake oil”.

Read the full article here.

Victory Over ADHD—A Mother’s Story

Her story details the struggles of raising twin sons, who were born ten weeks premature. Both had many developmental delays and by six years old they had been diagnosed with ADHD. All the psychologists and psychiatrists, and several teachers, recommended Ritalin to address their issues. She was desperate and willing to try anything to treat her childen’s symptoms. Yet, her husband said “No way” and was adamant about his beliefs, so she supported his position.

She took her children off dairy products at six years of age, and that decision became the beginning of their alternative, holistic journey. She would spend the next seven years learning about and trying alternative medicine and lifestyle approaches. After years of high hopes and disappointments in treating their children’s ADHD, they finally found a natural, non-drug approach that actually worked and it had lasting, permanent change. This week’s Watchdog Radio show guest, Deborah Merlin, hopes and believes that other parents and doctors will experience the same results using her approach and suggestions to give you hope on your family’s journey to better health and happiness.

The Drugging of Our Children and Decline of American Education

It is estimated that in the United States between 4 million and 8 million children are on Ritalin, the drug being used to change the behavior of children afflicted with a so-called “disease” called Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder ADHD. We already know that the long-term use of Ritalin can be fatal.

What parents are not being told by psychiatrists who prescribe the drug and the school nurses who give it to the kids is that taking Ritalin is like playing Russian roulette, simply because nobody can be sure what the
side-effects will be. Why would anyone subject a child to a drug with so many possible harmful side effects simply to “treat” an attention problem? How about creating classrooms with more order and fewer distractions.

This week’s guest, Samuel L. Blumenfeld, has published ten books on education in America, and he has spent much of his career investigating the decline in American literacy, the reasons for the high rate of learning disabilities in American children, the reasons why so many children are labeled ADD, and why the school system refuses to use intensive phonics in reading instruction.

Download the podcast here.