Drugs, Sexual Abuse and Electroshock Exposed – CCHR International

Mental health watchdog CCHR is calling for more legal action to protect vulnerable youth from abuses in psychiatric facilities.

By: Jan Eastgate
Chairman CCHR International
August 30, 2024

Citizens Commission on Human Rights International welcomes the growing number of attorneys representing survivors of the troubled teen treatment industry, and seeking justice for the abuse many have endured in behavioral hospitals. On August 27, three Alabama law firms filed a lawsuit against Brighter Path Tuskegee, formerly Sequel Tuskegee, detailing severe physical and emotional abuse inflicted on a 17-year-old boy, identified as “MC,” while he was a juvenile at the facility in 2023.(1)

“What MC endured is a betrayal of trust, and we are determined to seek justice for him,” attorney Tommy James said, adding: “No child should have to endure what this child and others have endured in this facility. The conditions and treatment are appalling, and those responsible must be held accountable. It is heartbreaking and infuriating to see children subjected to such inhumane treatment.”

A recent U.S. Finance Committee report, “Warehouses of Neglect: How Taxpayers Are Funding Systemic Abuse in Youth Residential Treatment Facilities” (RTFs), noted how widespread this type of abuse is, stating, “Children in the care of behavioral health providers are routinely exposed to the risk of abuse….” In the worst circumstances, children in RTFs suffer “sexual, physical, verbal, or emotional abuse by staff. Abuse is endemic to conditions in RTFs.”(2) The Senate investigation included facilities owned by Universal Health Services, Acadia Healthcare, and Sequel (now Vivant).

As evidence of this, since the report was published, a behavioral health worker at Piney Ridge Treatment Center in Arkansas, owned by Acadia, was arrested and charged in August with sexual indecency with a child being treated at the facility.(3) A lawsuit was filed against a Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center in Illinois, owned by Acadia, alleging that a staff member repeatedly raped a 24-year-old patient. Another former counselor faces 62 counts of criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse from December 2017 to June 2018 in a total of six cases.(4) Additionally, Acadia is set to pay a $400 million settlement in New Mexico involving children who were placed in foster care where they were repeatedly sexually abused.(5)

The abuses may be much greater. While the Senate report does not specify how many adolescents are subjected to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), three of the hospital chains investigated are known to do so. At least three Universal Health Services (UHS) psychiatric hospitals, for example, downplay the risks of ECT while promoting unproven and possibly misleading theories. As of 2018, UHS’s River Point Behavioral Health in Florida performs 900-1,000 ECT treatments annually and claims that the 460 volts of electricity delivered through the body is safe.(6)

Such claims about “safety” are particularly troubling when we consider the financial incentives associated with ECT. The adverse effects of ECT can increase the length of hospital stays; thus, its provision can increase profits.(7) The Senate report notes how “at its core, the RTF model typically optimizes profits at the expense of children’s well-being and safety. The widespread civil rights violations that children experience in RTFs are a direct result of the industry’s model.”(8)

ECT is still administered despite the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending that its use in children be banned. However, Acadia Healthcare openly admits that it offers ECT to pediatric and adolescent patients.(9) Trust Point Hospital in Tennessee, owned by Acadia Healthcare, misleadingly claims on its website that ECT causes a “mini-seizure that can help the brain reset itself…” and “alters the neural circuits and brain chemistry.”(10) However, no clinical studies exist to support these claims.

Furthermore, the site falsely claims that ECT does not erase memories and blames any “short-term memory impairment” on the anesthesia used to administer ECT, which “often returns over time.”(11) But experts clearly link the memory loss to the electroshock.

John Read, Ph.D., who has examined the impact of ECT in many studies, points out that the WHO and the United Nations said in 2023, “ECT is not recommended for children and should be banned by law.” However, he adds, “ECT continues to be used in children and adolescents” and it is “likely that developing brains are particularly susceptible to the memory loss caused by ECT.” Among the many side effects of ECT, he wrote, “is long-term memory loss, found in 12 to 55 percent of patients. The American Psychiatric Association admits that ‘ECT can result in persistent or permanent memory loss.’”(12)

In a recent landmark decision, the California Supreme Court said that there are serious risks of ECT, including memory loss and brain damage. The court’s decision emphasized that patients have the right to be fully informed about the risks of their treatments, and manufacturers of ECT devices can be held liable for failing to disclose these risks.(13)

The disturbing association between ECT and brain damage is further reinforced by dozens of lawsuits filed in the United States by survivors of electroshock device damage. ECT and brain damage have been inextricably linked since their inception, according to a Los Angeles law firm. It cites the textbook “Preventable Brain Damage” as referring to several types of studies that have shown brain damage as a result of ECT.(14)

In addition to this care, youth in residential treatment centers are also at risk for psychotropic medications. The Senate report reveals that many children are subjected to polypharmacy, including antidepressants that the FDA warns may increase the risk of suicide in people 24 and under. When these antidepressants fail, ECT is often recommended, despite studies suggesting that it does not prevent suicide and may actually increase the risk of suicide by 44 times compared to the general population.(15)

More lawsuits are needed to protect troubled youth from not only sexual and physical abuse, including the use of restraints in residential facilities, behavioral health hospitals, and wilderness youth camps, but also from the prescription treatments they receive.

CCHR calls for urgent and comprehensive action to protect vulnerable youth from widespread abuse in psychiatric institutions. It urges greater legal oversight and accountability for institutions that administer harmful treatments such as electric shock and psychotropic drugs. The organization advocates for legislative measures to prevent the exploitation and abuse of children in these institutions and calls on lawmakers, lawyers, and the public to join the fight for justice and reform.

For victims, CCHR offers a reporting form on its website where patients can confidentially REPORT ABUSE.

(1) “Alabama youth home staff instigated fights, gambled with residents as teen was brutalized, lawsuit claims,” AOL.com, Aug. 27, 2024, updated Aug. 28, https://www.al.com/news/2024/08/alabama-youth-home-staff-instigated-fights-gambled-with-residents-as-teen-was-brutalized-lawsuit-claims.html

(2) Senate Finance Committee Staff Report, “Warehouses of Neglect: How Taxpayers Are Funding Systemic Abuse in Youth Residential Treatment Facilities,” June 12, 2024, p. 11, https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/sfc_report_warehouses_of_neglect.pdf

(3) “Arkansas behavioral treatment center employee accused of inappropriate relationship with child,” 5newsonline.com, August 20, 2024, https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/crime/employee-arkansas-behavioral-treatment-center-inappropriate-relationship-child/527-b39d3a0b-897d-4efb-b5a2-952792ba4dfb

(4) “Timberline Knolls Employee Sexually Assaulted Patient, Lawsuit Alleges,” Patch.com, Aug. 21, 2024, https://patch.com/illinois/lemont/timberline-knolls-staffer-sexually-assaulted-patient-lawsuit-alleges

(5) “Democratic Candidate Lobbies Health Care Company to ‘Put Profits Before Child Safety’” Nevada ballAug 12, 2024, https://thenevadaglobe.com/articles/dem-candidate-lobbies-for-healthcare-company-found-to-put-profits-ahead-of-childrens-safety/; https://www.beckersbehavioralhealth.com/behavioral-health-news/acadia-healthcare-pays-400m-to-settle-sexual-abuse-cases.html

(6) CCHR White Paper, CHILD RAPE, SUICIDE, DEATH, AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN HEALTHCARE FRAUD BY THE FOR-PROFIT BEHAVIORAL INDUSTRY – Restoring Effective and Accountable Oversight: What is Needed, Dec. 2018, https://www.cchrint.org/pdfs/healthcare-fraud-by-the-for-profit-behavioral-industry.pdf

(7) Draper B, Luscombe G., “Quantification of factors contributing to length of stay in an acute psychogeriatric unit,” International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 1998; 13:1–7

(8) Senate Finance Committee Staff Report, p. 11

(9) https://www.acadiahealthcare.com/locations/east-tennessee-behavioral-health/; https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/acadia-and-geisinger-break-ground-on-danville-behavioural-hospital/ar-BB1m2Hoc

(10) https://mergr.com/company/trustpoint-hospital; https://www.trustpointhospital.com/programs/ect/

(11) https://www.trustpointhospital.com/programs/ect/

(12) John Read, Ph.D., “Is It Time to Ban Electroconvulsive Therapy for Children?” Psychology TodayNovember 17, 2023, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychiatry-through-the-looking-glass/202311/is-it-time-to-ban-electroconvulsive-therapy-for

(13) https://www.freedommag.org/blog/california-supreme-court-says-no-electroshock-without-informed-consent-in-major-patient-victory-c5d678 “Wisner Baum Prevails in Landmark Win for Patient Autonomy in CA Supreme Court Ruling,” Wisner Baum Law Firm, June 20, 2024, https://www.wisnerbaum.com/blog/2024/june/wisner-baum-prevails-in-landmark-win-for-patient/

(14) https://www.wisnerbaum.com/defective-medical-device-injuries/ect/

(15) https://www.ccrint.org/2024/08/23/the-collapse-of-electroshock/; Anders Spanggård, Christopher Rohde, Søren Dinesen Østergaard, “Risk factors for suicide in patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy: a nationwide survey of 11,780 patients,” Acta Psychiatry ScandinaviaJanuary 29, 2023, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/acps.13536