Citizens Commission on Human Rights

Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
Formation1969
Legal statusNonprofit organization
PurposeAnti-psychiatry
Location
  • 6616 W Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California
Coordinates34°05′51″N 118°20′02″W / 34.0976°N 118.334°W / 34.0976; -118.334
Websitecchr.org

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is an anti-psychiatry lobbying organization established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz.[a][2][3]: 170 [4]: 294  Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, its stated mission is to "eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections."[5] It is regarded by most non-Scientologists as a Scientology front group whose purpose is to push the organization's anti-psychiatry agenda.[14]

  1. ^ Carey, Benedict (September 11, 2012). "Dr. Thomas Szasz, Psychiatrist Who Led Movement Against His Field, Dies at 92". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. In 1969, in a move that damaged his credibility even among allies, he joined with the Church of Scientology to found the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, which portrays the field as abusive and regularly pickets psychiatric meetings. Dr. Szasz was not a Scientologist himself, and he later distanced himself from the church, but he shared the religion's critical view of psychiatry. His provocations were not without cost. In the 1960s, New York mental health officials, outraged at his attacks on the state system, blocked Dr. Szasz from teaching at a state hospital where residents trained, according to two former colleagues. Dr. Szasz bristled but had little recourse, and his teaching was curtailed.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference fink was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference reitman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference wright was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "About CCHR". CCHR International. Citizens Commission on Human Rights International. May 5, 2009. Archived from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  6. ^ "Industry of Death exhibition on psychiatry walks a fine line". Canada.com. August 8, 2007. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2012. "A major purpose of Scientology is to destroy psychiatry and replace it with its own pseudo-counselling techniques. And CCHR is one of Scientology's front-group weapons attempting to achieve that goal", says Stephen Kent, a University of Alberta sociologist specializing in new religions and cults. Scientology holds that psychiatrists are "cosmic demons", he says.
  7. ^ Kirsten Stewart (July 2, 2005). "Scientology's political presence on the rise". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2012. The church [of Scientology] kept a low profile, paying professional lobbyists to press its cause or relying on CCHR, which skeptics call a front group designed to recruit Scientologists and replace psychiatry with Dianetics.
  8. ^ "[ Fence Post ]". Chicago Daily Herald. January 4, 2001. Letters to the Editor. Dangerous program / In a letter to Fence Post (Dec. 12), Susan Stozewski of the Chicago Church of Scientology attempts to promote a drug rehab program called Narconon. I wish to warn readers that Narconon is a front group for the Church of Scientology. I found from personal experience that Narconon is a sham and is, in fact, a slick device to lure unsuspecting people into Scientology. An acquaintance of mine recently discovered that she had serious liver damage from Narconon's bogus "purification" program and she now cannot get health insurance coverage. Another Scientology front group to beware of is the CCHR or Citizens Commission on Human Rights. The CCHR is using tax-exempt funds in a covert campaign to discredit psychiatric-psychology treatment. The CCHR has an extensive network of agents that are distributing distortions about psychiatric treatment and medications such as Prozac and Ritalin. This is a very dangerous thing and people should be aware that it is going on. / Jim Beebe / Northbrook
  9. ^ "U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejects Scientologists' petition". Business Wire (reprinting Eli Lilly press release). August 1, 1991. The petition sought the removal of Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride, Dista) from the market and was filed in October 1990 by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a Scientology front group. The FDA is to be commended on its careful review of pertinent scientific data, which led to this most recent reaffirmation of the safety and effectiveness of Prozac. From the start, the campaign against Prozac, of which the CCHR petition was a part, has been a dangerous deception. Scientology's disinformation is a menace to the public health as it attempts to frighten patients away from appropriate medical care and safe and effective medicines.
  10. ^ "'Church' that yearns for respectability; Business of religion; Scientology". The Times. June 23, 2007. Hubbard's empire ... Citizens' Commission on Human Rights: assets £4,000; turnover £43,000
  11. ^ "The Scientology Church of Hollywood". The Globe and Mail. September 11, 1993. Scientology's physical presence in Los Angeles and Hollywood is massive. It owns at least seven large buildings, staffed by 2,500 members, and is associated with a wide array of local organizations - "front groups" to their detractors. Some are directly affiliated, like the Citizens' Commission on Human Rights, an anti-psychiatry group, and Author Services, which represents Mr. Hubbard's books and hires actors like Roddy McDowall and Bruce Boxleitner to read the Scientology founder's books on tape. Others have Scientologists on staff and use church methods.
  12. ^ Chandler, Jo; Macdonald, Jacqui (April 22, 1991). "Scientology's war of retribution on deep-sleep therapy". The Age. Internal documents from the Church of Scientology, the parent organisation of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, indicate that behind the church's public battle to expose abuses of psychiatric patients lies a hidden plan of retribution. (alternative link)
  13. ^ "Scientology organizations". Charleston Gazette. July 10, 2005. Scientology operates several drug rehab, education and anti-psychiatry organizations. / · Narconon: The church's drug-rehabilitation program was founded 35 years ago. It has 145 centers in 38 countries. Narconon is based partly on Scientology's belief that drugs accumulate in body fat. / · Crimonon: A prison program founded in 1972 that draws on Scientology principles to rehabilitate prisoners. The program rejects traditional mental-health care. Hubbard believed that Scientology could help rid the planet of crime. / · Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR): Established in 1969 as an anti-psychiatry organization, CCHR promotes Hubbard's teachings against modern psychiatry. It charges that psychiatry has no scientific foundation, that psychiatric drugs cause violent behavior and that chemical imbalances have never been proven.
  14. ^ [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]


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