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CCHR & Scientology

Neo

Silver Meritorious Patron
After rereading over Bjorkist's recent post about Dr Thomas Szasz and CCHR, I thought I would look more into this. I was once a volunteer for CCHR. It was whilst I was a public at the Melbourne Org. My experience of it was it being totally a part of the 'greater' Scientology corporate structure, but not directly part of the Church.

The following is a quote from the CCHR website

http://www.cchr.org/

Is CCHR part of the Church of Scientology?

CCHR is an independent organization. It comprises members of the Church of Scientology and many other people of various denominations, faiths and cultural beliefs. Scientologists are not unique in their view that psychiatry is harmful. People from all walks of life are concerned about the destructive impact of psychiatry on society. They work with CCHR to do something effective about it. CCHR's Board of Advisors—called Commissioners—include prominent doctors, lawyers, artists, educators, businessmen, civil and human rights representatives and professionals who see it as their duty to expose and help abolish any and all physically damaging practices in the field of mental health.

We are proud to have been founded by the Church of Scientology, which has a long and impressive history of human rights achievements. CCHR members work closely with Church members on social reform issues and consult with the Church's social reform or human rights departments.

My first experience with CCHR was after being on staff for a few months. The ANZO President (OSA, Nick Broadhurst, IIRC), held a presentation specifically on CCHR, and the purpose of the event was to sign people up as volunteers for CCHR. It was run by the Church, specifically OSA PR, in association with the IAS.

When I was routed off staff, I started helping out the local CCHR chapter. It had been quite non-existent, but had recruited a few people in the previous 6 months. ALL CCHR volunteers were Scientology public. It was operated in direct liaison wth DSA Melbourne, Mary Anderson. For the last 6 months that I helped out, until rejoining staff, it operated out of the DSA's office space, which is a highly secured area, and even actual staff members aren't usually allowed in there.

The stats of CCHR, are a part of the DSA's stats.

People were helped for the purpose of obtaining data of use ultimately to the DSA, and more so to OSA.

Neo
 

Dulloldfart

Squirrel Extraordinaire
Between 1986 and 1996, while in the SO in LA, I lived in the same dorm in Leb Hall. It was a sort of OSA Int guys' dorm, in that most of the people in it when I arrived were in OSA Int, more or less. Even me. Two of the people in there were CCHR Int staff (i.e. SO members), one for many years. He may even still be there.

Paul
 

Free to shine

Shiny & Free
I also spent a lot of time working for CCHR in Melbourne. I think there may have been a couple of outside volunteers at that time, this is early 80's, however 98% were scientologists. It was run directly by OSA, stats were pushed as much as any org staff stat and many a Wednesday night was spent into the wee hours, plus Thursday morning, to get those stats up. Weekly Battle Plans were done and approved by the A/G. Anyone who says it is not directly OSA run doesn't know what they are talking about.
 

Terril park

Sponsor
A friend of mine now out of COS and ex CCHR volunteer about a year ago said that what they did was follow up peoples complaints in order to create black PR for psychaitry. If there was no situation where black PR could be made, they did nothing. It appeared they did not offer help to people. That is
what she told me.

I had a friend who was locked in a high security wing in a mental hospital
and he asked CCHR for help and they refused it. In fact he was deservedly
locked up and admitted that to me later. He's been locked up several times in fact. How this operates in the UK is that each patient gets to meet each week with someone independant of the hospital, I believe a social worker and via them could also have access to lawyers to speak for them at mental health tribunals. This may not be a perfect system but on the face of it seems pretty good. My friend once out of his really crazy stages has no bitterness towards the system.
 

Neo

Silver Meritorious Patron
A friend of mine now out of COS and ex CCHR volunteer about a year ago said that what they did was follow up peoples complaints in order to create black PR for psychaitry. If there was no situation where black PR could be made, they did nothing. It appeared they did not offer help to people. That is what she told me.

I was CCHR volunteer for about a year, and this is exactly what we did. I researched peoples complaints, with the criteria being what was its value to DSA/OSA for black PR purposes.

It actually became soul destroying, because we didn't help anyone in the end.
 

Pixie

Crusader
I was CCHR volunteer for about a year, and this is exactly what we did. I researched peoples complaints, with the criteria being what was its value to DSA/OSA for black PR purposes.

It actually became soul destroying, because we didn't help anyone in the end.

Well now you see I didn't know any of this, I had no idea about this at all, so what you're saying here that it truly was a mere guise with the sole purpose of black PRing psychiatry and that they didn't give a flute about anyone who was locked up and being abused!? This puts things into perspective now doesn't it. This is sickening, really. :no:
 

Feral

Rogue male
Well now you see I didn't know any of this, I had no idea about this at all, so what you're saying here that it truly was a mere guise with the sole purpose of black PRing psychiatry and that they didn't give a flute about anyone who was locked up and being abused!? This puts things into perspective now doesn't it. This is sickening, really. :no:

However....why would we be surprised?

Thing is, if they stuck their neck out selflessly to help someone, now that would upset my stable data.....:omg:
 

Neo

Silver Meritorious Patron
Interesting data on this topic at this website http://psychassualt.org/

According to the formerly secret closing agreement between the Church of Scientology and the American Internal Revenue Service (IRS), CCHR is one of the many "Scientology-related entities". As such they fulfill Scientology's stated goal to take over the field of mental health.

Many don't realize the true agenda of Scientology and assume CCHR can be a partner to improve standards of care. As I have documented above, Scientology does not want to reform psychiatry, they want to eradicate it and obtain its financing and appropriations.

Sec ED, Office of LRH, Confidential, "Project Psychiatry", 22 Feb 1966

"A psychiatrist today has the power to (1) take a fancy to a woman (2) lead her to take wild treatment as a joke (3) drug and shock her to temporary insanity (4) incarnate her (5) use her sexually (6) sterilise her to prevent conception (7) kill her by a brain operation to prevent disclosure. And all with no fear of reprisal. Yet it is rape and murder. [...]

"We want at least one bad mark on every psychiatrist in England, a murder, an assault, or a rape or more than one.

"This is Project Psychiatry. We will remove them."

The point about getting one bad mark on every Psychiatrist is what CCHR operates on. We would seek peoples bad experiences with Psychiatry, investigate them, and attempt to extract enough data to go after the Psych in question.

The plan was to get the names of every Psychiatrist in the state. Then proceed with obtaining data. Because LRH says all Psychs are evil, they believe the data on every Psych exists. We found very little. Not sure what is happening currently.

Neo
 

Pixie

Crusader
However....why would we be surprised?

Thing is, if they stuck their neck out selflessly to help someone, now that would upset my stable data.....:omg:

I agree Feral, however, I really had no idea about them being a part of OSA, when we got videos and lectures on a Saturday night in the org, really sickening stuff to watch, got handed booklets and leaflets to read, I was under the 'impression' that the cult were trying to help people 'in that area'! I don't think I'll ever get over the shock of how cold and callous this cult is, no matter what I read or how many times I read it, I still find it shocking in the extreme.
 

Free to shine

Shiny & Free
One of the volunteers they used was a lovely elderly lady who had had a lobotomy. She had a lot of physical difficulty and a very sad story, and yet her use to CCHR was purely for PR.
 

alex

Gold Meritorious Patron
My time volunteering with CCHR predated OSA but was similarly run by the GO....

We did provide some degree of advocacy or help facilitate it at that time. If a person in the mental health system came to us we would investigate their situation and generally connect them up with the best person to help them.

Usually that meant referring them to someone outside of CCHR, but with the backup of our research into the situation. We did not have people on staff with the appropriate credentials to carry weight with mental health people, but had contacts with other "advocates" that did.

We also worked on projects advocating legislation or opposing it.

I have seen the industry of death exhibit and while I think that there is some truth to it, it is also grossly out reality for many, the wrong gradient and pure PR. It seems to be though, the focus of current CCHR activity.

This brings up for me the question; why cant scientology set up some actual treatment group for the mentally ill? (outside the church of course as they are not allowed in the church...)

And answering my question, something I have commented on recently....it takes a license to provide that kind of counseling outside the protections of religion.

Me? I think it would be kind of noble to have some sort of free outreach with effective techniques for the mentally ill...charitable and all....but that would step on the toes of those folk whose industry it is....

alex
 

Pascal

Silver Meritorious Patron
After rereading over Bjorkist's recent post about Dr Thomas Szasz and CCHR, I thought I would look more into this. I was once a volunteer for CCHR. It was whilst I was a public at the Melbourne Org. My experience of it was it being totally a part of the 'greater' Scientology corporate structure, but not directly part of the Church.

The following is a quote from the CCHR website

http://www.cchr.org/



My first experience with CCHR was after being on staff for a few months. The ANZO President (OSA, Nick Broadhurst, IIRC), held a presentation specifically on CCHR, and the purpose of the event was to sign people up as volunteers for CCHR. It was run by the Church, specifically OSA PR, in association with the IAS.

When I was routed off staff, I started helping out the local CCHR chapter. It had been quite non-existent, but had recruited a few people in the previous 6 months. ALL CCHR volunteers were Scientology public. It was operated in direct liaison wth DSA Melbourne, Mary Anderson. For the last 6 months that I helped out, until rejoining staff, it operated out of the DSA's office space, which is a highly secured area, and even actual staff members aren't usually allowed in there.

The stats of CCHR, are a part of the DSA's stats.

People were helped for the purpose of obtaining data of use ultimately to the DSA, and more so to OSA.

Neo

CCHR is a joke. Szasz pushes drugs in his books, which CCHR doesn't even read! They wanna destroy psychiatry but have no replacement for the insane. Totally moronic and stupid position of CofS since everyone is insane in this universe and planet to some degree. Small picture, no vision. Mediocrity. Miscavige. Need we say more...
 

sandygirl

Silver Meritorious Patron
Quote from Alex:
This brings up for me the question; why cant scientology set up some actual treatment group for the mentally ill? (outside the church of course as they are not allowed in the church...)

And answering my question, something I have commented on recently....it takes a license to provide that kind of counseling outside the protections of religion.

Me? I think it would be kind of noble to have some sort of free outreach with effective techniques for the mentally ill...charitable and all....but that would step on the toes of those folk whose industry it is....

Alex, with your kind kind heart I can't beleive you're still hanging in there with the church. Help the mentally ill? What kind of profit is there in that?

Also, you are kindof missing the point that CoS has NO way to help the mentally ill. Check out Jeremy Perkins or Lisa McPhearson. When someone becomes psychotic the church has NO TECH to help them!!! There is story after story to prove this.
 

sandygirl

Silver Meritorious Patron
As far as CCHR it's another $$$ making arm of the church. When I was a the MV events two years ago we were being pressured to buy the "Human Rights" DVDs at $25 a pop. (I was "asked" to buy 100)!!!:duh: :duh:

THEN you were supposed to distribute them to movie theaters, and local TV stations!!!!:omg: :omg:

Then you were supposed to close your eyes and ears to the most flagrant abuses occuring in the Org!!!!!!
 

Terril park

Sponsor
Quote from Alex:


Alex, with your kind kind heart I can't beleive you're still hanging in there with the church. Help the mentally ill? What kind of profit is there in that?

Also, you are kindof missing the point that CoS has NO way to help the mentally ill. Check out Jeremy Perkins or Lisa McPhearson. When someone becomes psychotic the church has NO TECH to help them!!! There is story after story to prove this.

I believe scientology could be of use. However it cost lots of money to
run a hospital of any sort. The full resources of Flag were insufficient for just one patient. Government funding on a large scale is needed.

Were COS to actually try to do this they would need qualified psychaitrists on staff. No one else is legally able to prescribe tranquilizers etc.

Potentially COS could co-operate with private nursing homes that give people mild tranquilizers and a safe space to be in. However as they are on
a program to destroy psychaitry and psychaitrists they'd find few takers!

Also the CCHR program whatever good intentions it may have had originally is now primarily about extracting donations that can't be re funded and blackening the name of a profession trying to deal with society's difficult problems.

I know one auditor who successfully ran the introspection rundown on 20+
individuals. It would be nice to see the COS fund such an exercize in co-operation with nursing homes hospitals etc.

I am of course dreaming.
 

Pascal

Silver Meritorious Patron
Quote from Alex:


Alex, with your kind kind heart I can't beleive you're still hanging in there with the church. Help the mentally ill? What kind of profit is there in that?

Also, you are kindof missing the point that CoS has NO way to help the mentally ill. Check out Jeremy Perkins or Lisa McPhearson. When someone becomes psychotic the church has NO TECH to help them!!! There is story after story to prove this.

Church has tech. It's ability they lack. Don't confuse both. A != A
 

Veda

Sponsor
http://forum.exscn.net/showpost.php?p=119344&postcount=4

http://www.forum.exscn.net/showpost.php?p=80988&postcount=76

http://warrior.xenu.ca/Brainwashing-front.jpg

Hubbard's plan to "take over absolutely the field of mental healing on this planet in all its forms" (and thus become the sole arbiter of who is sane and who is not sane) was part of his 1955 'blueprint' for his mental-healing-coated blackmail and money-collecting personality-cult:

From Hubbard's secretly authored 'Russian Textbook on Psychopolitics', a.k.a. the 'Brainwashing Manual':

"He [Psychopolitics/Scientology] must labor until at last the entire field of mental science is entirely dominated by Communist [Scientology] principles and desires.

"Where groups interested in the health of the community have already been formed, they should be infiltrated and taken over."

From LRH 'Executive Directive' of 24 November 1968:

"We are going to take over mental hospitals and political guidance and the whole field of mental healing."

And from Hubbard's 'Intelligence Actions - Covert Intelligence Data Collection' of 2 December 1969:

"Our war... to take over absolutely the field of mental healing on this planet in all its forms.

"Our total victory will come when we run his organizations, perform his functions and obtain his financing and appropriations."
 

Pixie

Crusader
:omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg:

Thank you for that information, that was a facinating read. :thumbsup:

It's interesting how easy it is to block out stuff one's read years and years ago, then one sees it again and remembers reading that before and thinking even at that point... how very strange..
 

paradox

ab intra silentio vera
Church has tech. It's ability they lack. Don't confuse both. A != A

Cof$ and offshoots may have have something that could loosely be called pseudo-technology. But it is not technology. Only in $cn would A ≠ A. More of lafayette's voodoo math and "science." :hysterical:

Main Entry:tech-nol-o-gy
Pronunciation:-j*, -ji
Function:noun
Inflected Form:-es
Etymology:Greek technologia systematic treatment, from techno- + -logia -logy

1 : the terminology of a particular subject : technical language
2 a : the science of the application of knowledge to practical purposes : applied science *the great American achievement has been ... less in science itself than in technology and engineering— Max Lerner* b (1) : the application of scientific knowledge to practical purposes in a particular field *studies are also made of polymeric materials to dental technology— Report: National Bureau of Standards* (2) : a technical method of achieving a practical purpose *a technology for extracting petroleum from shale*
3 : the totality of the means employed by a people to provide itself with the objects of material culture

Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Pseudoscience is defined as a body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific or made to appear scientific, but does not adhere to the scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific status. The term comes from the Greek root pseudo- (false or pretending) and "science" (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge"). An early recorded use was in 1843 by French physiologist François Magendie, who is considered a pioneer in experimental physiology.
As it is taught in certain introductory science classes, pseudoscience is any subject that appears superficially to be scientific or whose proponents state is scientific but nevertheless contravenes the testability requirement, or substantially deviates from other fundamental aspects of the scientific method. Professor Paul DeHart Hurd argued that a large part of gaining scientific literacy is "being able to distinguish science from pseudo-science such as astrology, quackery, the occult, and superstition". Certain introductory survey classes in science take careful pains to delineate the objections scientists and skeptics have to practices that make direct claims contradicted by the scientific discipline in question.
Beyond the initial introductory analyses offered in science classes, there is some epistemological disagreement about the extent to which it is possible to distinguish "science" from "pseudoscience" in a reliable and objective way. The term itself has negative connotations, because it is used to indicate that subjects so labeled are inaccurately or deceptively portrayed as science. Accordingly, those labeled as practicing or advocating a "pseudoscience" normally reject this classification.

Pseudosciences have been characterised by the use of vague, exaggerated or untestable claims, over-reliance on confirmation rather than refutation, lack of openness to testing by other experts, and a lack of progress in theory development.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience
 

Björkist

Silver Meritorious Patron
Interesting data on this topic at this website http://psychassualt.org/

We would seek peoples bad experiences with Psychiatry, investigate them, and attempt to extract enough data to go after the Psych in question.

With a little tweaking, sounds like some other things currently going on...

"We would seek peoples bad experiences with Scientology, investigate them (ride on up to the internets; wikipedia), and attempt to extract enough data to go after the Scientologist in question."

No mockery or fun being poked at, near or around you, Neo.

The plan was to get the names of every Psychiatrist in the state. Then proceed with obtaining data. Because LRH says all Psychs are evil, they believe the data on every Psych exists. We found very little. Not sure what is happening currently.

Neo

I honestly think that is a mis-understanding on the part of many Scientologists. As I stated in another thread, I do think Hubbard, when referring to "psychs", was referring to the Ewen Camerons (this guy was a fucking maniacal beast, imho), Josef Mengeles and Walter Freemans.

Not just anyone who had a degree in Psychiatry. I have met some who have degrees in Psychiatry and they aren't beasts...hell, even Szasz has such a degree.

CCHR is a joke. Szasz pushes drugs in his books, which CCHR doesn't even read! They wanna destroy psychiatry but have no replacement for the insane. Totally moronic and stupid position of CofS since everyone is insane in this universe and planet to some degree. Small picture, no vision. Mediocrity. Miscavige. Need we say more...

Not to be overly specific here, but Szasz doesn't really push drugs. He pushes our right to medicate ourselves (or not) on our own free will. In order to do that, our access to such things can't be controlled/regulated/interfered with or comepletely removed by a government (or any other supressive group).

Szasz's viewpoint, in my estimation is, "If you want it, you should have access to it and be able to take it. If you kick the bucket, well, that was your choice. On the other side, if you don't want it, no one else has the right to force it on you. (judges, psychiatrists, other doctors, etc.)

Which is still in disagreement with the Church of Scientology's stance on all things labelled as "drugs".

I would like to know how the CofS justifies (aspects of) the 5th dynamic being labelled as a bad thing needing laws, governments and police to regulate it. AND actively spreading such propaganda about it.

And as Alex said in another thread, "Sadly we do not live in a society that contains a critical mass of individuals with sufficient levels of personal responsibility to function with a full application of libertarian ideals."

It's not about restriction, laws, fear and force. These just lead to...well, look around.

It's about our rights to our bodies, minds and consciousness without another person (group of people) interfering in those rights.
 
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