{"id":125332,"date":"2025-04-07T06:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T10:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=125332"},"modified":"2025-04-04T19:14:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T23:14:57","slug":"cchr-says-despite-record-high-spending-mental-health-outcomes-decline-experts-say-fault-lies-with-flawed-diagnostic-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/cchr-says-despite-record-high-spending-mental-health-outcomes-decline-experts-say-fault-lies-with-flawed-diagnostic-system\/","title":{"rendered":"CCHR Says Despite Record-High Spending, Mental Health Outcomes Decline-Experts Say Fault Lies with Flawed Diagnostic System"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 7, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) &#8212; The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is sounding the alarm on the unchecked expansion of psychiatric diagnoses\u2014most notably through the <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders<\/em> (DSM). What began in 1952 with just 106 diagnoses exploded to over 300 by 2013, despite a lack of objective biological testing to support these labels. The United States is spending more than ever on mental health &#8211; yet outcomes continue to worsen.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-0407-s2p-cchr-mhealth-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-125331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-0407-s2p-cchr-mhealth-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-0407-s2p-cchr-mhealth-800x600-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-0407-s2p-cchr-mhealth-800x600-200x150.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><br \/><em>Image caption: \u201cUntil psychiatry is held accountable for its unscientific diagnostic system and the harm it inflicts, the crisis will only deepen.\u201d &#8211; Jan Eastgate, President, CCHR International.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Suicide rates are rising, psychiatric hospitalizations are increasing, and more Americans than ever are on psychiatric drugs. A growing number of experts and watchdog organizations argue that the root of the problem lies not in a lack of access or funding, but in the very foundation of modern psychiatry: an unscientific diagnostic system that pathologizes normal life. According to neurologist Dr. Suzanne O\u2019Sullivan, author of \u201c<em>The Age of Diagnosis<\/em>,\u201d \u201cfad\u201d diagnoses pathologize the human condition itself. \u201cWe are not getting sicker,\u201d she writes, \u201cwe are attributing more to sickness.\u201d[1]<\/p>\n<p>Despite massive investments in mental health care, U.S. outcomes are deteriorating:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mental health\/behavioral spending reached $329 billion in 2022\u2014a 94% increase since 2012 [2]\u2014yet suicide rates have jumped 30% since 2000.[3]<\/li>\n<li>Time in a psychiatric hospital raises suicide likelihood by over 44 times; psychotropic drugs alone can raise it nearly six times.[4]<\/li>\n<li>One-third of admitted psychiatric patients are readmitted within a year, highlighting treatment failure.[5]<\/li>\n<li>Involuntary commitment accounts for over half of all psychiatric admissions.[6] Yet evidence shows that forced treatment is ineffective.[7]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The diagnostic system\u2019s credibility is undermined by deep financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. According to research: 69% of DSM-5 task force members had financial ties to drug companies.<\/p>\n<p>Lisa Cosgrove, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Boston, warns that the \u201cdisease model\u201d of psychiatry secured legitimacy for the field but at the cost of objectivity. \u201cIt opened the door to an improper dependence on the pharmaceutical industry,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>DSM-driven diagnostic inflation has led to an explosion in labels that often medicalize experiences. Examples now classified as disorders include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Caffeine Use Disorder (8%)<\/li>\n<li>Restless Leg Syndrome (13%)<\/li>\n<li>Adjustment Disorder (15%)<\/li>\n<li>Oppositional Defiant Disorder in children (6%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some estimates suggest that, when added together, DSM-labeled \u201cillnesses\u201d outnumber the U.S. population.<\/p>\n<p>While the DSM gives the appearance of a clinical guidebook, it remains\u2014by the admission of psychiatrists\u2014scientifically unsound. Dr. Thomas Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, declared: \u201cThe weakness of DSM is its lack of validity\u2026. DSM diagnoses are based on consensus about clusters of symptoms, not any objective laboratory measure.\u201d[8]<\/p>\n<p>Psychiatrist Allen Frances, who led the DSM-IV task force, has since warned that DSM has led to the \u201cmedicalization of childhood\u201d and a \u201cmassive, careless over-diagnosis\u201d epidemic. He emphasized: \u201cMental illness is terribly misleading because the disorders we diagnose are merely descriptions of behaviors, not well-established diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, there is no verifiable biological test for depression, ADHD, bipolar or other any other mental disorder. Yet millions are labeled and treated as if they were suffering from chronic medical diseases.<\/p>\n<p>Psychiatric diagnoses do not reveal chemical imbalances. In fact, psychiatrist Professor Joanna Moncrieff, of University College London, notes: \u201cThe theory that depression is caused by low serotonin is not supported by reliable evidence.\u201d Still, patients are routinely prescribed antidepressants under the presumption of such imbalances.<\/p>\n<p>The consequences of psychiatric diagnosing are not just financial\u2014they\u2019re deeply personal and often devastating. Women and children are disproportionately affected. Two-thirds of electroshock recipients are women. Children as young as five are prescribed psychiatric drugs. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported a 66% rise in antidepressant use in ages 12\u201325 between 2016 and 2022.[9]<\/p>\n<p><em>TIME<\/em> and <em>Smithsonian<\/em> have reported on the enduring trend of diagnosing women\u2019s physical and emotional struggles as mental illness, delaying real medical care and increasing vulnerability to psychiatric interventions.[10]<\/p>\n<p>Even as access to treatment expands, mental health is declining across all major metrics. TIME summed it up: \u201cEven as more people flock to therapy, U.S. mental health is getting worse.\u201d[11]<\/p>\n<p>Experts and advocates are calling not for more funding, but for systemic change.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Frances advises: \u201cIgnore DSM-5. Its suggestions are reckless, unsupported by science, and will result in unnecessary, harmful, costly treatment.\u201d[12]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe DSM must be abolished,\u201d says psychiatrist Samuel Timimi.[13]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/about-us\/\">CCHR<\/a>, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry Thomas Szasz, urges lawmakers, healthcare leaders, and the public to reconsider the current trajectory of mental health policy. \u201cUntil psychiatry is held accountable for its unscientific diagnostic system and the harm it inflicts,\u201d says Jan Eastgate, President, CCHR International, \u201cthe crisis will only deepen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To learn more, visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/04\/04\/normal-behavior-pathologized-cost-mental-health-epidemic\/\">https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/04\/04\/normal-behavior-pathologized-cost-mental-health-epidemic\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] Hanna Barnes, \u201cOur overdiagnosis epidemic: How a marked rise in the treatment of certain conditions \u2013 physical and mental \u2013 is harming, not protecting, public health,\u201d <em>The New Statesman<\/em>, 10 Mar. 2025, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newstatesman.com\/culture\/books\/book-of-the-day\/2025\/03\/our-overdiagnosis-epidemic\">www.newstatesman.com\/culture\/books\/book-of-the-day\/2025\/03\/our-overdiagnosis-epidemic<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[2] U.S Behavioral Health Spending: A 2023 OPEN MINDS Market Intelligence Report, May 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/openminds.com\/intelligence-report\/u-s-behavioral-health-spending-a-2023-open-minds-market-intelligence-report\/\">https:\/\/openminds.com\/intelligence-report\/u-s-behavioral-health-spending-a-2023-open-minds-market-intelligence-report\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[3] \u201cAmerica Has Reached Peak Therapy. Why Is Our Mental Health Getting Worse?\u201d <em>TIME<\/em>, 28 Aug. 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6308096\/therapy-mental-health-worse-us\/\">https:\/\/time.com\/6308096\/therapy-mental-health-worse-us\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[4] \u201cDisturbing findings about the risk of suicide and psychiatric hospitals,\u201d <em>Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiology<\/em>, (2014), <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00127-014-0912-2\">https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00127-014-0912-2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[5] \u201cReadmission of Patients to Acute Psychiatric Hospitals: Influential Factors and Interventions to Reduce Psychiatric Readmission Rates,\u201d <em>Healthcare<\/em> (Basel). 2022 Sep 19;10(9):1808, <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC9498532\/\">https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC9498532\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[6] \u201cNational Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS): 2018 Data on Mental Health Treatment Facilities \u2013 Data on Mental Health Treatment Facilities,\u201d SAMSHA, 2019; Christopher Lane, Ph.D., \u201cWhen Psychiatric Treatment Isn\u2019t Voluntary,\u201d <em>Psychology Today<\/em>, 31 Mar. 2023, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/side-effects\/202303\/when-psychiatric-treatment-isnt-voluntary\">www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/side-effects\/202303\/when-psychiatric-treatment-isnt-voluntary<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[7] \u201cForcing homeless people into mental health treatment isn\u2019t the way to solve homelessness,\u201d <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>, 28 Jan. 2020, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/opinion\/story\/2020-01-28\/homeless-people-mental-health-treatment-homelessness\">www.latimes.com\/opinion\/story\/2020-01-28\/homeless-people-mental-health-treatment-homelessness<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[8] Thomas Insel, \u201cTransforming Diagnosis,\u201d NIMH Website, 20 Apr. 2013, <a href=\"https:\/\/psychrights.org\/2013\/130429NIMHTransformingDiagnosis.htm\">https:\/\/psychrights.org\/2013\/130429NIMHTransformingDiagnosis.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[9] <a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health-news\/antidepressant-prescriptions-increasing-young-people#What-are-the-side-effects-of-antidepressants\">www.healthline.com\/health-news\/antidepressant-prescriptions-increasing-young-people#What-are-the-side-effects-of-antidepressants<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[10] <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/for-some-women-with-serious-physical-ailments-mental-illness-has-become-a-scapegoat-diagnosis-180986203\/\">www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/for-some-women-with-serious-physical-ailments-mental-illness-has-become-a-scapegoat-diagnosis-180986203\/<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.historyisnowmagazine.com\/blog\/2024\/1\/2\/female-hysteria-throughout-history\">www.historyisnowmagazine.com\/blog\/2024\/1\/2\/female-hysteria-throughout-history<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[11] \u201cAmerica Has Reached Peak Therapy. Why Is Our Mental Health Getting Worse?\u201d <em>TIME<\/em>, 28 Aug. 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6308096\/therapy-mental-health-worse-us\/\">https:\/\/time.com\/6308096\/therapy-mental-health-worse-us\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[12] Allen Frances, \u201cDoes DSM-5 Have a Captive Audience?\u201d <em>Huffington Post<\/em>, 14 Apr. 2013, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/does-dsm-5-have-a-captive_b_3080553\">www.huffpost.com\/entry\/does-dsm-5-have-a-captive_b_3080553<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[13] Samuel Timimi, \u201cNo more psychiatric labels: Why formal psychiatric diagnostic systems should be abolished,\u201d <em>Int. Journ. of Clinical and Health Psychology<\/em>, Sept.-Dec. 2014, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S169726001400009X\">www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S169726001400009X<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>MULTIMEDIA:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Image link for media: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-0407-s2p-cchr-mhealth-300dpi.jpg\">https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-0407-s2p-cchr-mhealth-300dpi.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Image caption: \u201cUntil psychiatry is held accountable for its unscientific diagnostic system and the harm it inflicts, the crisis will only deepen.\u201d &#8211; Jan Eastgate, President, CCHR International<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 7, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) &#8212; The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is sounding the alarm on the unchecked expansion of psychiatric diagnoses-most notably through the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). What began in 1952 with just 106 diagnoses exploded to over 300 by 2013, despite a lack of objective biological testing to support these labels. The United States is spending more than ever on mental health &#8211; yet outcomes continue to worsen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9788,"featured_media":125331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[608,12804,10,187,12994,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion-news","category-ap","category-california-news","category-los-angeles-news","category-mental-health","category-non-profit-news","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":2907,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125332"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125340,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125332\/revisions\/125340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}