The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has launched a traveling exhibit documenting historical and contemporary abuses in psychiatry, with particular focus on what organizers describe as an epidemic of child drugging. The exhibit features graphic panels and video excerpts from the documentary Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, tracing a history from brutal treatments like lobotomies and electroconvulsive therapy to the current widespread use of psychotropic drugs.
One of the most impactful sections addresses the drugging of school children, citing over 20 million children on mind-altering medications. The exhibit directly links these drugs to increased violence and suicides among young people, noting that school shootings have been traced to perpetrators using psychiatric drugs. A documentary available at the exhibit, Prescription for Violence, documents this connection further.
During the exhibit's opening, guest speaker Diane Lewis, a 40-year veteran special education teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District, expressed concern about the education system. "Too many children are coming in who had a label of ADHD or another psychiatric label. I could not teach them when they are on the drugs," Lewis stated. She criticized current school programs for not addressing underlying problems and trauma, instead opting to medicate children.
The exhibit presents data showing that despite billions spent annually on psychiatric treatments, the industry offers zero cures. Organizers argue this has contributed to societal plagues including drug addiction, homelessness, incarceration in mental institutions, and widespread grief. The CCHR travels through major cities in the Western United States with 14 identical exhibits worldwide, warning parents and community members that psychiatric treatments can be deadly.
For additional information, visitors can access resources through the CCHR website or view documentaries about the organization's work globally. The exhibit highlights the CCHR's founding in 1969 by psychiatry professor Dr. Thomas Szasz and the Church of Scientology, with commissioners including medical professionals, lawyers, legislators, and civil rights representatives. The organization states it is inspired by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's commitment to ending physically damaging mental health practices.
