Ryan, member of MindFreedom, describing coercive psychiatry in Australia

Ryan is a resident of Australia who survived 14-months of an incredible type of involuntary psychiatric drugging: Forced home drugging.

Ryan describes the problems with coercive psychiatry in that country, in very passionate and penetrating words.

In Australia, a psychiatrist can sign a piece of paper and order an individual living peacefully at home out in the community, to have psychiatric drugs against their will. No judge oversight or approval is required.

Such forced home psychiatric drugging is enforced in a variety of ways. In Ryan's case, he had to report every other week to a clinic to have a long-acting injection of a powerful neuroleptic psychiatric drug (often called an "antipsychotic").

Ryan was law-abiding and peaceful, but these "Community Treatment Orders" or "Involuntary Outpatient Commitment" can be used on anyone, even those who are law-abiding and peaceful. Canada, England, Ireland and USA all have similar laws. Those pushing these laws sometimes euphemistically call it "assisted outpatient treatment."

Ryan is a psychiatric survivor who presented at a MindFreedom International forum at the University of Oregon Law School on November 12, 2011. He is introduced by David W. Oaks, Director, MindFreedom International.

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Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• MindFreedom
• MindFreedom International
• coercive psychiatry
• David Oaks
• psychiatric survivors
• mental health consumers
• Psychiatry