Confronting Abusive Mental Health Workers

We've all see the television shows where character and credentials mean everything in a courtroom. Is it any wonder why mental health patients might feel as if confronting an abusive mental health professional would be beyond their abilities. After all, who wants their personal business brought to the public eye when it could mean publicly carrying the stigma of a mental health issue? Thankfully, there are options that those with mental health conditions can use. Sadly, these options had to be created to deal with the growing number of abusive mental health incidents.

Years ago, various torturous methods were used in order to expel "demons" from people. When mental health finally made the leap beyond religion and into the science of psychology, the treatments didn't change all that much. Holes were drilled in heads, people were strapped to beds or in a straight jacket, cold water and various other shocking techniques were employed as treatment methods. While some of these treatments are illegal today, restraints are still used as well as electro shock therapy. Some therapists and psychiatrists even have intercourse with their patients and later claim it to be the fault of the patient or blame some psychiatric disorder of their own.

Since patients and their families are not always well educated in scientific methods, medical laws and all the jargon that is used in the medical field, it's not really such a chore to leave the patient and family confused about what may be real treatment and what may be just some twisted perversion of the so called psychiatric professional.

Psychiatric services must have a patient advocate on staff to help patients to understand their rights and to question therapeutic practices. The problem is that these advocates work on staff and as such are a bit desensitized depending on how well they perceive what's going on in the office. Sometimes it's necessary to look elsewhere for assistance. That's where groups like the the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) can be helpful.

The CCHR has been helping to uphold the rights of humanity for over half a century. Their very goal is to make sure that the rights of patients are protected. Many groups work through them in order to assist various people defend their rights from abusive mental health workers. Mental Health Abuse.org is just one of those sites. Here people can file complaints and know that those who receive the complaints are there for the sole purpose of protecting patients.

It's time for those that deal with mental health issues to stand up for their rights without fear of stigma or reciprocation. After all, if the DSM-IV TR is accurate, then there isn't one person on the planet that couldn't be classified as having some kind of disorder, making the stigma of mental illness null and void. Being mentally ill doesn't make it okay to be a victim. Stand up for yourself by contacting one of the advocacy agencies now.

References: http://www.mental-health-abuse.org/, http://www.cchr.org/