{"id":129851,"date":"2025-10-06T06:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=129851"},"modified":"2025-10-03T17:19:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T21:19:26","slug":"cchr-280b-mental-health-funding-fuels-harm-as-outcomes-keep-getting-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/cchr-280b-mental-health-funding-fuels-harm-as-outcomes-keep-getting-worse\/","title":{"rendered":"CCHR: $280B Mental Health Funding Fuels Harm as Outcomes Keep Getting Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES, Calif., Oct. 6, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) &#8212; With $280 billion invested annually in psychiatric hospitals and treatment\u2014and billions more paid out to treat the damage they cause\u2014the mental health watchdog <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/10\/03\/why-reopening-institutions-mandating-treatment-failure\/\">Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR)<\/a> warns that continuing to fund the system without accountability is like pouring water into a sieve or patching a sinking ship with paper.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-1006-s2p-cchr-mandate-800x600.webp\" alt=\"CCHR: $280B Mental Health Funding Fuels Harm as Outcomes Keep Getting Worse\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-129828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-1006-s2p-cchr-mandate-800x600.webp 800w, https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-1006-s2p-cchr-mandate-800x600-400x300.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-1006-s2p-cchr-mandate-800x600-200x150.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><br \/><em>Image caption: Despite $280 billion annually being poured into psychiatric hospitals, forced treatment, and community programs, outcomes are abysmal. Governments must review costs and results before sinking more funds into failed systems.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For-profit behavioral chains now control nearly one-third of all freestanding psychiatric beds in the U.S., up from less than one-quarter in 2011, while government-owned beds have fallen from 64% to 48%.[1] These corporate providers have been repeatedly exposed for abuse and neglect. Since 2015, over 120 youth treatment centers have closed after scandals, lawsuits, or safety violations, including sexual assault of patients and restraint deaths.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, proponents of \u201cbringing back\u201d large state-run mental institutions ignore history. When state hospitals were shut down in the 1960s, it was not because psychiatry had reformed but because conditions were so appalling that they became a national scandal, according to CCHR, which was established in 1969. It documented how psychiatry\u2019s promised \u201ccommunity mental health\u201d solution merely shifted abuse from one setting to another, while psychiatrists expanded their reach and funding by prescribing more drugs to more people.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers prove the futility: federal funding for community mental health centers jumped more than 160% from $143 million in 1969 to $372 million projected for 2025.[2] Yet outcomes have not improved.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Between 1999 and 2019, psychotropic drugs were implicated in 51,446 deaths and nearly 650,000 overdoses, while the annual death rate from these drugs more than tripled.[3]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Suicide rates have risen 30% since 2000.[4]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Mental health courts and community treatment orders have reinforced failure. As of 2022, over 650 such courts have been established, but research shows they do not improve mental health, reduce reoffending, or save costs. Instead, they are often expensive, resource-intensive, and punitive\u2014where if someone misses taking a mandated psychiatric drug, it can mean jail time.[5]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Psychiatric drugs make suicide nearly six times more likely, while psychiatric hospitalization raises the risk of self-inflicted death an alarming 44 times.[6]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Iatrogenic Drug Damage and Profits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Iatrogenic harm\u2014injuries caused by medical treatment itself\u2014is a hallmark of modern psychiatric drugging, driving up health care costs and fueling a cycle of permanent disability and profit.<\/p>\n<p>Psychiatric drugs can cause profound neurological and nervous system damage, including injury to the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. Adverse effects include seizures, paralysis, loss of coordination and muscle strength, numbness, loss of consciousness, and an increased risk of stroke. Even widely prescribed SSRI antidepressants can trigger serotonin syndrome, a potentially lethal reaction marked by muscle rigidity, high fever, seizures, irregular heartbeat, organ failure. Side effects also include suicide and aggression. Disturbingly, many of these side effects mimic or worsen the very \u201cmental disorders\u201d the drugs are marketed to treat\u2014drug-induced agitation or anxiety is frequently mislabeled as a \u201cmood disorder,\u201d resulting in yet more prescriptions, escalating risks and costs.[7]<\/p>\n<p>Antipsychotics are particularly devastating. They cause tardive dyskinesia (TD)\u2014permanent, involuntary muscle movements\u2014in 20% to 50% of those prescribed them. They also produce akathisia, a state of unbearable inner restlessness that can drive violent behavior, along with insulin resistance, cardiac complications, and severe metabolic disturbances.[8]<\/p>\n<p>Rather than halting prescriptions when such damage occurs, psychiatry has created an entire secondary industry to \u201ctreat\u201d drug-induced conditions. For example, the same manufacturers that profit from selling antipsychotics also profit from selling drugs to suppress TD symptoms.[9] By 2024, the TD treatment market had reached $3.6 billion and is expected to climb to $5.2 billion within five years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis demonstrates a grim business model: the continuation of prescribing psychotropic drugs known to cause permanent harm ensures a growing market for drugs to treat those harms\u2014none of which is improving mental health in the country,\u201d says Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International.<\/p>\n<p>Far from healing, this revolving door of iatrogenic injury and psychiatric-pharmaceutical profit ensures patients remain trapped in a cycle of dependency, disability, and escalating costs\u2014all while psychiatric providers reap billions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>This is not care\u2014it is coercion weaponized under the false banner of help,\u201d<\/em> Eastgate states. \u201c<em>The biomedical model psychiatry clings to is not only ineffective\u2014it is harmful and costly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>CCHR says governments must stop treating the funding of psychiatry as unquestionable good. Before infusing more billions into state hospitals, private chains, or mandated treatment programs, there must be a hard audit of costs versus outcomes. To do otherwise is refilling a leaking bucket\u2014it guarantees waste and perpetuates harm.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of repeating failed approaches, policymakers must demand accountability, end coercive practices, and reject psychiatry\u2019s biomedical model that has only deepened America\u2019s crisis. Until then, every taxpayer dollar poured into this system is not just wasted\u2014it fuels human suffering and ensures a further waste of funds and, most importantly, lives.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/about-us\/\">CCHR<\/a>, established over 50 years ago by the Church of Scientology and Professor of psychiatry, Thomas Szasz, has helped achieve hundreds of mental health reforms in the six continents it operates in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To learn more, visit:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/10\/03\/why-reopening-institutions-mandating-treatment-failure\/\">https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/10\/03\/why-reopening-institutions-mandating-treatment-failure\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sources:<\/p>\n<p>[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/bhbusiness.com\/2025\/09\/23\/psychiatric-beds-increasingly-controlled-by-for-profit-giants\/\">https:\/\/bhbusiness.com\/2025\/09\/23\/psychiatric-beds-increasingly-controlled-by-for-profit-giants\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[2] \u201cTotal expenditures \u2026 by type of mental health organization: United States, selected years, 1969-1983,\u201d <em>Mental Health, United States, 1987<\/em>, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, p. 5; <a href=\"https:\/\/bhbusiness.com\/2022\/03\/28\/white-house-budget-proposes-to-transform-mental-healthcare-allocates-4-8b-to-related-initiatives\/\">https:\/\/bhbusiness.com\/2022\/03\/28\/white-house-budget-proposes-to-transform-mental-healthcare-allocates-4-8b-to-related-initiatives\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[3] <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC8355085\/\">https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC8355085\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6308096\/therapy-mental-health-worse-us\/\">https:\/\/time.com\/6308096\/therapy-mental-health-worse-us\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2023\/12\/21\/1219628362\/well-intentioned-mental-health-courts-can-struggle-to-live-up-to-their-goals\">https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2023\/12\/21\/1219628362\/well-intentioned-mental-health-courts-can-struggle-to-live-up-to-their-goals<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2024\/11\/22\/280b-invested-mental-health-worsens-cchr-demands-audit-and-accountability\/\">https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2024\/11\/22\/280b-invested-mental-health-worsens-cchr-demands-audit-and-accountability\/<\/a>, citing <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>[7] Adam O\u2019Brien, Ph.D., \u201cThe Double-Edged Sword: Medication Potency, Side Effects, and the Mind,\u201d Wounded Healers Institute, 24 July 2025<\/p>\n<p>[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5472076\/\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5472076\/<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medprodisposal.com\/akathisia-15-things-to-know-about-this-horrible-condition\/\">https:\/\/www.medprodisposal.com\/akathisia-15-things-to-know-about-this-horrible-condition\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2021\/10\/11\/consumers-beware-of-antipsychotics-long-term-debilitating-effects\/\">https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2021\/10\/11\/consumers-beware-of-antipsychotics-long-term-debilitating-effects\/<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rxlist.com\/ingrezza-drug.htm#professional\">https:\/\/www.rxlist.com\/ingrezza-drug.htm#professional<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/sfx\/ingrezza-side-effects.html\">https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/sfx\/ingrezza-side-effects.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>MULTIMEDIA:<\/p>\n<p>Image link for media: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-1006-s2p-cchrmandate-300dpi.webp\">https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-1006-s2p-cchrmandate-300dpi.webp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Image caption: Despite $280 billion annually being poured into psychiatric hospitals, forced treatment, and community programs, outcomes are abysmal. Governments must review costs and results before sinking more funds into failed systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES, Calif., Oct. 6, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) &#8212; With $280 billion invested annually in psychiatric hospitals and treatment-and billions more paid out to treat the damage they cause-the mental health watchdog Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) warns that continuing to fund the system without accountability is like pouring water into a sieve or patching a sinking ship with paper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9788,"featured_media":129829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[608,12804,10,187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion-news","category-ap","category-california-news","category-los-angeles-news","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":1557,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129851","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=129851"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129857,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129851\/revisions\/129857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}