CCHR Exhibit During Independence Day Weekend Highlights Human Rights in Mental Health

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) brought its award-winning Traveling Exhibit to Old Sacramento during Independence Day weekend, encouraging visitors to reflect on the importance of protecting human rights within mental health. The exhibit, presented amid Fourth of July celebrations, highlighted principles of individual liberty, informed consent, and the protection of fundamental human rights in healthcare. Through historical documentation and educational displays, the exhibit examined controversial psychiatric practices and raised questions about coercive treatment, involuntary commitment, and patients' rights to make informed decisions about their own care.

"Independence Day reminds us that freedom should never be taken for granted," said a local CCHR representative. "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." Visitors explored the history of psychiatric treatment, learned about patient rights, and participated in discussions on balancing effective mental healthcare with the protection of civil liberties.

According to CCHR research, 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 approximately three times faster than population growth in recent years. A study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, using 2014 data, found that involuntary hospitalizations accounted for 54 percent of admissions to psychiatric inpatient facilities. CCHR maintains that once committed, individuals may be subjected to psychiatric treatment without meaningful recourse.

The grand opening event was emceed by Patricia Schreiter, a former U.S. Army officer. Featured keynote speakers included Eric Eisenhammer, CEO of Dauntless Communications, and Stacy Anderson, Executive Board Member of the National African American Civil Rights Organization. Drawing from his own experiences with the mental health system, Eisenhammer expressed his appreciation for CCHR's work. Anderson focused her remarks on informed consent and every individual's right to receive complete information before making decisions about mental health treatment. Referencing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, Anderson shared her own vision for the future, stating, "I have a dream for mental health justice... This exhibit shines a light on people who were unheard, mistreated, overmedicated, or denied their rights."

Founded in 1969 by psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz and the Church of Scientology, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights is an international mental health watchdog dedicated to investigating and exposing human rights abuses in the field of mental health. Its commissioners include physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, attorneys, legislators, government officials, educators, and civil rights advocates. For more information, visit the CCHR website or watch documentaries on the work of CCHR volunteers in countries around the world and the film Psychiatry: An Industry of Death on the Scientology Network.