A traveling exhibit organized by the non-profit Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has opened in Austin, Texas, exposing historical and contemporary violations of human rights in the field of psychiatry. The exhibit features graphic panels and video excerpts from the documentary Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, documenting abuses from pseudoscientific theories to brutal treatments like lobotomies and electroconvulsive therapy, and the current widespread use of psychotropic drugs.
"Knowing history is supposed to be the best protection against history repeating itself," said Lee Spiller, Director of the Texas chapter of CCHR. "Ironically, and despite global efforts to reduce force and coercion in psychiatric treatment, psychiatry seems bent on repeating such history."
The opening event drew community leaders and advocates who underscored the importance of safeguarding human rights. Nelson Linder, President of the Austin NAACP, stated, "There has never been a more important time to promote human rights. Working together, we can and should protect the rights of those accused of being mentally ill." Linder added, "There is absolutely no reason that someone should lose basic human rights because of a label."
Spiller highlighted the collaboration between CCHR and the NAACP over decades, recalling a protest against a psychiatrist who claimed foster children—disproportionately Black and Brown—were heavily drugged due to "bad gene pools." "Psychiatry should have dispensed with these ideas centuries ago," Spiller said.
Other speakers addressed parental rights in school mental health and the importance of rights education. One attendee shared how CCHR's information helped his family after a loved one was placed under emergency psychiatric detention: "The information we received from CCHR helped us to get through this and come out the other side. I'm not happy about it, but the information from CCHR, and their calming influence made it bearable."
The traveling exhibit will tour major cities in the Western United States, warning parents and community members about the dangers of psychiatric treatments. To learn more, visit the CCHR website or watch documentaries on the work of CCHR volunteers and the film Psychiatry: An Industry of Death on the Scientology Network. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights was inspired by humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, who urged the exposure and abolition of damaging practices in mental health.
