Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) groups from across Europe protested in Madrid during the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry, demanding an end to coercive psychiatric practices.

MADRID, June 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of CCHR demonstrators marched through Madrid's upscale Salamanca District, demanding an end to psychiatric-drug treatment of children, the use of electroshock therapy (ECT) and other coercive mental health practices.

The protesters from various European countries also gathered outside the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry to denounce nonconsensual interventions that still prevail in mental health systems across Europe, in clear violation of people's human rights.

The group highlighted the widespread use of involuntary commitment, forced medication, mechanical restraints and electroshock—calling them degrading, dehumanizing and incompatible with modern healthcare standards. These psychiatric violations deliver profound trauma and harm.

Quoting United Nations bodies such as the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee Against Torture, CCHR echoed their stance that involuntary psychiatric interventions must be "eliminated completely." These bodies have stated that such interventions constitute arbitrary detention and may amount to inhuman or degrading treatment, while prolonged restraint can be classified as torture.

The group also raised concern over Spain's excessive prescription of psychiatric drugs, noting that the country ranks among the world's top consumers of tranquilizers. "We are witnessing a disturbing correlation between the rise in psychiatric drug use and the increase in suicide rates," said Maria Bernal, a CCHR spokesperson. Among the protest issues was the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. CCHR pointed out that no definitive biological marker confirms the disorder.

CCHR referenced a 2022 review by University College London that challenged the "chemical imbalance" theory of depression, stating, "There is no convincing evidence that depression is associated with, or caused by, lower serotonin concentrations or activity."

The protesters also criticized the pharmaceutical industry's influence over psychiatry. The spokesperson highlighted conflicts of interest among leading psychiatrists at the EPA Congress due to financial ties with pharmaceutical companies.

CCHR expressed alarm over discussions at the Congress—including the return of asylums, assisted suicide for mental illness and psychedelic treatments—which they said contradict the direction urged by the World Health Organization and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Protesters urged the European Psychiatric Association to adopt reforms grounded in human rights, scientific rigor and personal autonomy.

"In mental health, human rights are not negotiable," said the CCHR spokesperson, Maria Bernal, demanding a mental health system that respects dignity, autonomy and evidence—not coercion or silence.

Since 2009, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Spain has been officially recognized as an association of public interest by the Ministry of Interior of the Spanish government. It was co-founded by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969. Internationally, more than 100 independent CCHR offices in 34 countries continue to advocate for protecting individuals from psychiatric abuse. The UN Human Rights Commission's Special Rapporteur has acknowledged CCHR International as a key force behind "many great reforms," having documented thousands of cases of psychiatric abuse that led to severe destabilization and even violence.

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SOURCE Church of Scientology International