EXPOSING ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY FOR WHAT IT IS—TORTURE
A CCHR march and demonstration protested psychiatry’s use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)—also called electroshock therapy—especially on toddlers and children, at the annual conference of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in New York City. Many believe that ECT—up to 460 volts of electricity through the brain—no longer exists. But the more than 25 lectures and papers presented on ECT at the APA convention put such beliefs to rest. US manufacturers of electroshock devices were two exhibitors at the APA conference.
The protesters decried ECT, shown to cause brain damage and memory loss, as torture and called for it to be banned. Through the Freedom of Information Act in several US states, CCHR found that children aged five and younger are being electroshocked. Such abuse, if committed by anyone but a psychiatrist, would constitute a crime, and when given to children should be meted the highest penalties.
The protesters decried ECT, shown to cause brain damage and memory loss, as torture and called for it to be banned.
Some media attempt to portray that ECT “works.” But no psychiatrist has proven how brain damaging a person does anything but temporarily shift the person’s attention off what might be ailing him—too numb and in pain to remember. Based on thousands of cases reported to CCHR over decades, their underlying problem can return and may even worsen. ECT induces a grand mal seizure, causing unconsciousness and violent muscle contractions, masked by an anesthetic. The FDA has never required manufacturers to conduct clinical studies to prove ECT is either safe or effective, despite being used for more than 80 years.
The effects of children being given ECT include a seven-year-old girl, who, following five sessions, became nearly catatonic.
In 2017, CCHR launched an online petition supporting a ban on ECT. Go to cchrint.org/electroshock to learn more and sign the Petition to Ban Electroshock (ECT) Device Being Used on Children, the Elderly and Vulnerable Patients.
FACTS
ENLIGHTENING THE MASSES
CCHR enlightens people across the globe on psychiatric abuse. Here are the stats:
21
MILLION
total CCHR booklets distributed, giving the facts of psychotropic drugs and psych abuse
190
COUNTRIES & TERRITORIES
where people have received CCHR materials in the past year, alone
19,806
TOURED
through CCHR’s museum, Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, exposing the sordid truth
69,713
INDIVIDUALS
in the fields of law, nursing and investigative journalism were mailed CCHR information
16
MILLION
reached by CCHR PSAs and award-winning documentaries in the last 12 months
END PSYCHIATRIC ABUSE
As a nonprofit mental health watchdog, CCHR relies on memberships and donations to carry out its mission to eradicate psychiatric violations of human rights and clean up the field of mental health. To become part of the world’s largest movement for mental health change, join the group that has helped enact more than 180 laws protecting citizens from abusive psychiatric practices.
