The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) brought its award-winning Traveling Exhibit to Old Sacramento during Independence Day weekend, urging visitors to consider the importance of safeguarding human rights within mental health care. Presented against the backdrop of Fourth of July celebrations, the exhibit highlighted principles of individual liberty, informed consent, and protection from coercive treatment.
Through historical documentation and educational displays, the exhibit examined controversial psychiatric practices, including involuntary commitment and forced treatment. A CCHR representative noted, "Independence Day reminds us that freedom should never be taken for granted. Our goal is to educate the public about safeguarding personal rights and ensuring that no individual is deprived of dignity, informed consent, or due process."
CCHR research indicates that an individual is involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility somewhere in the world approximately every 30 seconds. In the United States, David Cohen, Professor of Social Welfare at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, reported that involuntary psychiatric detentions have increased at a rate roughly three times faster than population growth in recent years. A 2014 study in The American Journal of Psychiatry found that involuntary hospitalizations accounted for 54 percent of admissions to psychiatric inpatient facilities.
The grand opening featured Patricia Schreiter, a former U.S. Army officer, as emcee. Keynote speakers included Eric Eisenhammer, CEO of Dauntless Communications, and Stacy Anderson, Executive Board Member of the National African American Civil Rights Organization. Eisenhammer shared his personal experiences with the mental health system, stating, "Thank you, CCHR, for the incredible work you do every day—educating, intervening, and giving people their lives back." Anderson focused on informed consent, referencing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech: "I have a dream for mental health justice... where mental health care does not open one up to harm, does not silence, and does not stigmatize."
For more information, 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. Founded in 1969 by psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz and the Church of Scientology, CCHR is an international mental health watchdog dedicated to investigating and exposing human rights abuses.
