{"id":126957,"date":"2025-06-16T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T10:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=126957"},"modified":"2025-06-13T19:04:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T23:04:52","slug":"cchr-urges-u-s-reform-as-global-court-momentum-builds-against-forced-psychiatry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/cchr-urges-u-s-reform-as-global-court-momentum-builds-against-forced-psychiatry\/","title":{"rendered":"CCHR Urges U.S. Reform as Global Court Momentum Builds Against Forced Psychiatry"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 16, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In what is being widely reported as a landmark human rights decision, Italy\u2019s Constitutional Court in May 2025 struck down part of the country\u2019s decades-old psychiatric law\u2014Article 35 of Law 833\/1978\u2014declaring some of its provisions for involuntary detainment unconstitutional. The ruling affirms that individuals subjected to compulsory psychiatric hospitalization must have the right to challenge such detention in court with legal representation.[1] The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR)<\/a>, based in Los Angeles, hailed the decision as an essential step towards achieving human rights in the mental health field. CCHR said its chapters worldwide are intensifying efforts to urge courts and lawmakers to follow suit and ultimately abolish forced psychiatric hospitalization and treatment. The group called on the United States to replicate\u2014and expand\u2014such protections.<\/p>\n

\"CCHR
Image caption: The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide\u2014and now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings. \u2013 CCHR International.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the U.S., the practice of forced psychiatric detainment has sharply escalated. According to David Cohen, professor of social welfare at UCLA\u2019s Luskin School, involuntary psychiatric detentions have increased at a rate three times higher than population growth in recent years.[2]<\/p>\n

A 2023 report, Involuntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections<\/em>, posted on Congress.gov, underscores that such commitments \u201cimplicate constitutional concerns and constraints under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution,\u201d particularly regarding the liberty interests of confined individuals. Yet, it notes the U.S. Supreme Court has never conclusively ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees all such protections.[3]<\/p>\n

While the Italian court ruling is significant, CCHR notes that it stops short of banning Trattamento Sanitario Obbligatorio<\/em> (TSO), the Italian legal framework for compulsory psychiatric hospitalization.[4] The U.S. similarly authorizes involuntary psychiatric treatment through legislative orders. In both countries, forced interventions remain legal despite mounting ethical criticism.<\/p>\n

Coercion in mental health settings has increasingly drawn global condemnation. Critics argue that forced psychiatric treatment fundamentally violates human dignity and autonomy. A 2023 study in BMC Psychiatry<\/em> concluded that coercion is incompatible with human rights and \u201cshould be avoided as far as possible.\u201d[5] That same year, The Lancet<\/em> warned that coercive psychiatric practices override patients\u2019 fundamental rights, and that approaches to reduce coercion are possible, and the cost of implementing them is minimal compared to the damage caused by forced interventions.[6]<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s decision follows another recent victory involving CCHR efforts in Europe. In Hungary, CCHR collaborated with legal experts to secure a Constitutional Court ruling that found Parliament had failed to provide legal avenues for individuals unlawfully detained in psychiatric facilities to seek compensation. Following sustained advocacy by CCHR Hungary, others, the Court and the President of the Republic, a new regulation was enacted on December 20, 2024, guaranteeing\u2014for the first time\u2014the legal right to compensation for victims of unlawful psychiatric detention.[7]<\/p>\n

CCHR’s international work continues to gain recognition. On June 2, 2025, New Zealand CCHR volunteer Victor Boyd was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by King Charles III. The honor recognized his 50-year campaign with CCHR to expose coercive psychiatric practices, particularly those used against children at the now-closed Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital\u2019s Child and Adolescent Unit. Boyd\u2019s relentless advocacy through CCHR helped prompt a formal government acknowledgement of the abuse and torture carried out by a psychiatrist heading the unit. The award is endorsed by the New Zealand Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Cabinet.[8]<\/p>\n

Momentum is also growing at the global policy level. The World Health Organization (WHO) released its Guidance on Mental Health Policy and Strategic Action Plan<\/em> in April 2025, recommending the prohibition of involuntary psychiatric practices\u2014including forced hospitalization and treatment\u2014and affirming individuals\u2019 right to refuse such treatment. The WHO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have repeatedly called for mental health systems to move away from coercion and adopt rights-respecting, support-based alternative approaches.<\/p>\n

These international reforms are grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Italy ratified in 2009. The CRPD explicitly rejects coercive interventions in mental health care. Its General Comment No. 1 affirms that all individuals\u2014regardless of disability status\u2014retain full legal capacity and must be supported, not substituted, in making decisions about their lives and health.[9]<\/p>\n

About CCHR<\/a>: Since its founding in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, CCHR has worked alongside survivors, whistleblowers, and international legal experts to expose systemic psychiatric abuse and advocate for transparent, non-coercive mental health care. The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide\u2014and CCHR says now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings.<\/p>\n

To learn more, visit:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/06\/13\/italys-court-ruling-builds-against-forced-psychiatry\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Sources: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

[1] \u201cCCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,\u201d European Times<\/em>, 5 June 2025, https:\/\/europeantimes.news\/2025\/06\/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[2] https:\/\/www.einnews.com\/pr_news\/656273520\/new-who-mental-health-guideline-condemns-coercive-psychiatric-practices<\/a>; \u201cStudy finds involuntary psychiatric detentions on the rise,\u201d UCLA Newsroom, 3 Nov. 2020, https:\/\/newsroom.ucla.edu\/releases\/involuntary-psychiatric-detentions-on-the-rise<\/a><\/p>\n

[3] Hannah-Alise Rogers, \u201cInvoluntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections,\u201d Health Care; Law, Constitution & Civil Liberties, 24 May 2023, https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/R47571<\/a><\/p>\n

[4] \u201cCCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,\u201d European Times<\/em>, 5 June 2025, https:\/\/europeantimes.news\/2025\/06\/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[5] Eva Brekke, et al., \u201cPatients’ experiences with coercive mental health treatment in Flexible Assertive Community Treatment: a qualitative study,\u201d BMC Psychiatry, 18 Oct. 2023, https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/37853402\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[6] Beate Wild, et al., \u201cReduction of coercion in psychiatric hospitals: how can this be achieved?\u201d The Lancet<\/em>, Dec. 2023, https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lanepe\/article\/PIIS2666-7762(23)00214-4\/fulltext<\/a><\/p>\n

[7] https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/05\/17\/apa-faces-outrage-child-deaths-mental-health-failure\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[8] \u201cKing’s Birthday Honours: Advocate dedicates award to survivors of abuse in care,\u201d RNZ, 2 June 2025, https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/national\/562817\/king-s-birthday-honours-advocate-dedicates-award-to-survivors-of-abuse-in-care<\/a>; \u201cAbuses in psychiatric care: The shameful story of the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent unit in Aotearoa New Zealand,\u201d Aust N Z J Psychiatry<\/em>, 2023 Sep;57(9):1193-1197, https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC10466991\/<\/a>; https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2021\/07\/01\/cchrs-work-acknowledged-nz-inquiry-lake-alice-psychiatric-child-torture\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[9] \u201cCCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,\u201d European Times<\/em>, 5 June 2025, https:\/\/europeantimes.news\/2025\/06\/cchr-italy-full-mental-health-reform-court-ruling-forced-treatment\/<\/a><\/p>\n

MULTIMEDIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Image link for media: https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-0617-s2p-cchrrulings-300dpi.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n

Image caption: The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide\u2014and now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings. \u2013 CCHR International<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 16, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In what is being widely reported as a landmark human rights decision, Italy’s Constitutional Court in May 2025 struck down part of the country’s decades-old psychiatric law-Article 35 of Law 833\/1978-declaring some of its provisions for involuntary detainment unconstitutional. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), based in Los Angeles, hailed the decision as an essential step towards achieving human rights in the mental health field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9788,"featured_media":126956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,12804,10,11557,187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-editorial-news","category-ap","category-california-news","category-italy-business","category-los-angeles-news","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":2390,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126957","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=126957"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126959,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126957\/revisions\/126959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}