*Stopping the wide-scale resurgence of lobotomy and psychosurgery on adults and children, and stopping of all known psychosurgery on children and all psychosurgery in federal and state institutions (1970s).
*The creation of the federal Psychosurgery Commission by Congress (1970s).
*Alerting the profession to the danger of tardive dyskinesia in children (1983). Tardive dyskinesia is a potentially devastating neurological disorder caused by neuroleptic or antipsychotic drugs.
*Alerting the profession to the danger of dementia produced by longer-term use of neuroleptic drugs (1983).
*Causing the FDA to force the drug companies to put in their labels for neuroleptic drugs a new class warning on tardive dyskinesia (1985).
*The withdrawal of a large multi-agency federal program to perform dangerous invasive experiments on inner-city children in search of supposed genetic and biochemical causes of violence (the violence initiative) (early 1990s).
*The initial cancellation and later modification of a potentially racist federally sponsored conference on the theorized genetics of violence (early 1990s).
*Alerting the profession to danger of down-regulation and dangerous withdrawal reactions from the new SSRI antidepressants, such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil (1992-4).
*Monitoring and at times modifying or stopping unethical, hazardous experimental research on children (1973 to the present).
While each of these critiques and reform projects was initially considered
highly controversial, and while each was frequently opposed by organized
psychiatry, most are now accepted as rational and ethical by medicine in
general. For example, psychosurgery is no longer widely practiced and not
at all in state or federal institutions or on children in the United States;
the multi-agency federal research program aimed at using invasive biological
procedures on inner-city children has been disbanded; the conference on
the genetics of violence was delayed and then vastly modified; all experts
now recognize the dangers of tardive dyskinesia in children; many researchers
have confirmed that the neuroleptic drugs produce dementia; and experienced
doctors now recognize the potential for dangerous withdrawal effects from
the SSRIs.
Current Activities
Today, the Center is increasingly focusing upon the critical issue of the impact of biological psychiatry upon children. Every day several million children in the United States are taking Ritalin with their morning orange juice. These children and their parents are being falsely told that they have chemical imbalances in their brains or other biological disorders. The amount of Ritalin distributed in the United States has quadrupled in the last few years. No other country in the world has a comparable number of children on this drug. Increasing numbers of parents, educators, physicians, and mental health professionals are alarmed by this trend. CSPP is helping to provide information on both potential risks and alternatives to biological psychiatric diagnosis and treatment of children through the distribution of information to individuals, professional educators, and the media.
CSPP also works to identify populations vulnerable to biological psychiatric treatment, including the elderly, racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, homeless, state hospital inmates, the severely disturbed, psychiatric survivors, women, and anyone who seeks psychiatric help without being fully informed of the possible consequences of diagnosis and biological treatments.
CSPP continues to expand it's efforts to offer information, alternatives, support group contacts, and hope to the varied groups and individuals who's lives have been adversely affected by biological psychiatry.
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