Tam
2009-09-30 15:17:37 UTC
The Soviet Union used to commit dissidents to psychiatric "hospitals" for
being so "insane" as to oppose the system.
China still uses this practice, as it did against the falun gong.
Not long ago in the U.S., homosexuals were often forced to undergo
psychiatric "treatment."
In the present U.S., abusive involuntary commitment is still commonplace,
but it's all about money. Read the following articles:
"U.S. Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado held hearings
investigating the practices of psychiatric hospitals in the United States.
Her committee's summary: "Our investigation has found that thousands of
adolescents, children, and adults have been hospitalized for psychiatric
treatment they didn't need; that hospitals hire bounty hunters to kidnap
patients with mental health insurance; that patients are kept against their
will until their insurance benefits run out; that psychiatrists are being
pressured by the hospitals to increase profit; that hospitals 'infiltrate'
schools by paying kickbacks to school counselors who deliver students; that
bonuses are paid to hospital employees, including psychiatrists, for
keeping the hospital beds filled; and that military dependents are being
targeted for their generous mental health benefits.
"The supposed experts responsible for these "diagnoses" are usually biased
in favor of commitment because of their personal economic concerns or their
affiliation with the psychiatric "hospital" or ward where the "patient" is
or will be confined. Psychiatric "hospitals", like all businesses, need
customers. In the case of psychiatric "hospitals" [or wards], they need
patients. They not only want patients, they need them to stay in business.
Similarly, individual psychiatrists and psychologists need patients to make
money and earn a living....Keeping all those psychiatric beds filled is
critical, and administrators are aggressively ensuring that they will be.
Some facilities even resort to paying employees and others bonuses of $500
to $1,000 per referral. An administrator at a psychiatric "hospital" told
me competition between psychiatric hospitals is "cut throat". Combine this
intense competition with America's poorly written involuntary commitment
laws and judges who refuse to impose protection from unwarranted commitment
that bona-fide due process requires, and the result is a lot of people
being deprived of liberty and suffering psychiatric stigma unjustifiably."
--Lawrence Stevens, a lawyer whose practice has included representing
psychiatric "patients" who have been abused in this manner. His articles
are not copyrighted. You are invited to make copies.
http://www.antipsychiatry.org/unjustif.htm
ALSO SEE:
"Some psychiatric hospitals made a practice of admitting adolescents in
distress, using the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The federal government
finally intervened, charging the hospitals with fraud and assessing fines
of millions of dollars. Many of these children did not have bipolar
disorder at all, but were acting inappropriately because of stresses in
their families, with their friends, and at school." --Edward Drummond,
M.D., Associate Medical Director at Seacoast Mental Health Center,
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in _The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs_
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2000), pages 13-14. Dr. Drummond
graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and was trained in
psychiatry at Harvard University."
See also:
http://www.cchr.org/take_action/report_psychiatric_abuse.html
"Vulnerable people who have sought help from psychiatrists and
psychologists have been falsely diagnosed and forced to undergo unwanted
and often harmful psychiatric methods."
P.S. A person is also charged for the payment of his own involuntary
commitment. If you don't have insurance, they can and will seize your
assets or put a lien on your house. So if you go to a hospital or local
mental health clinic for help with depression, you could end up being
hospitalized because you're a threat to yourself. The "screener" who
decides you should be involuntary committed may be a social worker or
"counselor," not a psychiatrist, who usually just rubber stamps what the
"screener" says.
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2004/Bills/PL05/55_.PDF.
While in theory, a patient is entitled to a hearing before a judge
before longer term involuntary commitment, in practice this provides
little protection.
1. In most states, you can be held for 3 days just on the recommendation
of a "screener," who need not even be a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists
just rubber stamp the screener's recommendation.
2. You can be and many people are involuntarily committed if they are
considered a potential danger to themselves, i.e., if they've had
thoughts of suicide. But thoughts of suicide are a common symptom of
depression; indeed, it's one of the standard DSM-IV diagnostic criteria
for clinical depression.
3. For the reasons noted above, it's in the financial interest of both
screeners and psychiatrists to commit people.
4. It often 20 days or longer to get even a preliminary hearing before a
judge, during which time the person remains committed and the bills pile up.
5. Judges usually just follow the recommendation of the
psychiatrist/screener, who have a vested interest in commitment. Unless
you can afford to hire your own lawyer and psychiatrist, you may stay
committed.
6. The person is often released before a hearing can be held, which is
often weeks. That still amounts to tens of thousands of dollars in
hospital and other medical bills. If you don't have insurance, they can
and will charge you thousands of dollars for it.
being so "insane" as to oppose the system.
China still uses this practice, as it did against the falun gong.
Not long ago in the U.S., homosexuals were often forced to undergo
psychiatric "treatment."
In the present U.S., abusive involuntary commitment is still commonplace,
but it's all about money. Read the following articles:
"U.S. Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado held hearings
investigating the practices of psychiatric hospitals in the United States.
Her committee's summary: "Our investigation has found that thousands of
adolescents, children, and adults have been hospitalized for psychiatric
treatment they didn't need; that hospitals hire bounty hunters to kidnap
patients with mental health insurance; that patients are kept against their
will until their insurance benefits run out; that psychiatrists are being
pressured by the hospitals to increase profit; that hospitals 'infiltrate'
schools by paying kickbacks to school counselors who deliver students; that
bonuses are paid to hospital employees, including psychiatrists, for
keeping the hospital beds filled; and that military dependents are being
targeted for their generous mental health benefits.
"The supposed experts responsible for these "diagnoses" are usually biased
in favor of commitment because of their personal economic concerns or their
affiliation with the psychiatric "hospital" or ward where the "patient" is
or will be confined. Psychiatric "hospitals", like all businesses, need
customers. In the case of psychiatric "hospitals" [or wards], they need
patients. They not only want patients, they need them to stay in business.
Similarly, individual psychiatrists and psychologists need patients to make
money and earn a living....Keeping all those psychiatric beds filled is
critical, and administrators are aggressively ensuring that they will be.
Some facilities even resort to paying employees and others bonuses of $500
to $1,000 per referral. An administrator at a psychiatric "hospital" told
me competition between psychiatric hospitals is "cut throat". Combine this
intense competition with America's poorly written involuntary commitment
laws and judges who refuse to impose protection from unwarranted commitment
that bona-fide due process requires, and the result is a lot of people
being deprived of liberty and suffering psychiatric stigma unjustifiably."
--Lawrence Stevens, a lawyer whose practice has included representing
psychiatric "patients" who have been abused in this manner. His articles
are not copyrighted. You are invited to make copies.
http://www.antipsychiatry.org/unjustif.htm
ALSO SEE:
"Some psychiatric hospitals made a practice of admitting adolescents in
distress, using the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The federal government
finally intervened, charging the hospitals with fraud and assessing fines
of millions of dollars. Many of these children did not have bipolar
disorder at all, but were acting inappropriately because of stresses in
their families, with their friends, and at school." --Edward Drummond,
M.D., Associate Medical Director at Seacoast Mental Health Center,
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in _The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs_
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2000), pages 13-14. Dr. Drummond
graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and was trained in
psychiatry at Harvard University."
See also:
http://www.cchr.org/take_action/report_psychiatric_abuse.html
"Vulnerable people who have sought help from psychiatrists and
psychologists have been falsely diagnosed and forced to undergo unwanted
and often harmful psychiatric methods."
P.S. A person is also charged for the payment of his own involuntary
commitment. If you don't have insurance, they can and will seize your
assets or put a lien on your house. So if you go to a hospital or local
mental health clinic for help with depression, you could end up being
hospitalized because you're a threat to yourself. The "screener" who
decides you should be involuntary committed may be a social worker or
"counselor," not a psychiatrist, who usually just rubber stamps what the
"screener" says.
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2004/Bills/PL05/55_.PDF.
While in theory, a patient is entitled to a hearing before a judge
before longer term involuntary commitment, in practice this provides
little protection.
1. In most states, you can be held for 3 days just on the recommendation
of a "screener," who need not even be a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists
just rubber stamp the screener's recommendation.
2. You can be and many people are involuntarily committed if they are
considered a potential danger to themselves, i.e., if they've had
thoughts of suicide. But thoughts of suicide are a common symptom of
depression; indeed, it's one of the standard DSM-IV diagnostic criteria
for clinical depression.
3. For the reasons noted above, it's in the financial interest of both
screeners and psychiatrists to commit people.
4. It often 20 days or longer to get even a preliminary hearing before a
judge, during which time the person remains committed and the bills pile up.
5. Judges usually just follow the recommendation of the
psychiatrist/screener, who have a vested interest in commitment. Unless
you can afford to hire your own lawyer and psychiatrist, you may stay
committed.
6. The person is often released before a hearing can be held, which is
often weeks. That still amounts to tens of thousands of dollars in
hospital and other medical bills. If you don't have insurance, they can
and will charge you thousands of dollars for it.