Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
September 24, 2025
CCHR's 'Industry of Death' Exhibit Shocks UCF Students, Officials
TLDR
- CCHR's exhibit exposes psychiatric industry abuses, empowering visitors with knowledge to challenge harmful practices and protect against pharmaceutical influence on legislation.
- The Psychiatry: An Industry of Death exhibit presents 14 audiovisual displays with interviews from 160 professionals documenting psychiatric abuses and mental health law information.
- This educational exhibit raises awareness about mental health abuses, inspiring community action to protect patient rights and create safer healthcare practices for all.
- A traveling exhibit revealing psychiatry's hidden history shocked psychology students and prompted a city commissioner to pledge legislative reform against mental health abuses.
Impact - Why it Matters
This news matters because it highlights ongoing debates about mental health treatment practices and patient rights that affect millions of Americans. The exhibit raises critical questions about psychiatric interventions like involuntary commitment and medication protocols that could impact anyone facing mental health challenges or whose family members might encounter the mental health system. With growing concerns about pharmaceutical industry influence and the proper balance between treatment and civil liberties, CCHR's work touches on fundamental issues about consent, medical ethics, and regulatory oversight in healthcare. The involvement of public officials like Commissioner Ortiz suggests these concerns are gaining political traction, potentially influencing future mental health legislation and enforcement practices in Florida and beyond.
Summary
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) Florida chapter recently hosted its provocative 'Psychiatry: An Industry of Death' exhibit at the University of Central Florida Student Union, drawing significant attention from students, veterans, law enforcement, and community members. This traveling exhibition, which reaches tens of thousands globally each year, exposes what CCHR describes as systematic abuses within the mental health industry, including electroshock therapy, involuntary examinations, and the controversial drugging of children with psychiatric medications. The exhibit mirrors the permanent museum located at CCHR's international headquarters in Los Angeles and serves as a powerful educational tool highlighting human rights violations in psychiatric practice.
Notable attendees included Orlando City Commissioner Antonio 'Tony' Ortiz, who emphasized the exhibit's importance during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at what's known as the 'heart of the campus.' Commissioner Ortiz voiced strong concerns about pharmaceutical industry influence on legislation and specifically criticized Florida's Baker Act, which allows for involuntary mental health examinations. He praised CCHR's resources on parental rights as valuable community assets. The event had immediate impact, with psychology students reporting changed career perspectives after witnessing the exhibit's content. One UCF psychology major expressed shock, stating the experience 'changes everything' about her career intentions in psychiatry.
The Florida chapter maintains a permanent installation of this exhibit in downtown Clearwater, which has attracted over 10,000 visitors since its 2015 unveiling. The museum features 14 audiovisual displays presenting what CCHR describes as the 'unvarnished history of psychiatry,' utilizing interviews with more than 160 doctors, attorneys, educators, and survivors. CCHR couples museum tours with educational seminars on mental health law, particularly the Baker Act, aiming to educate lawmakers, healthcare professionals, and citizens about mental health abuses and legal rights. The organization, initially established by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, continues its mission to expose what it characterizes as multi-billion dollar psychiatric fraud while advocating for patient protections.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by 24-7 Press Release. Read the original source here, CCHR's 'Industry of Death' Exhibit Shocks UCF Students, Officials
