E. Fuller Torrey, DJ Jaffe's mentor and Treatment Advocacy Center co-founder, is funded by a wealthy businessman, Ted Stanley through the Stanley Family Foundation. Mr. Stanley has spent well over $300 million dollars in twenty-one years funding E. Fuller Torrey's forced treatment agenda and "research" which is more accurately described as biased, hateful propaganda; and it is spread the same way; insidiously, using deception, manipulation and fear.
The architects of psychiatry's (psychopharmacology) Brave New World have used what were once family run advocacy groups to spread the propaganda; they have enlisted the groups members as unpaid lobbyists; perverting the purpose of the Courts, by ignoring Standard Court Procedures. Legislation passed to Court Order 'special treatment' for those who are diagnosed as mentally ill; compelling Police to work as Mental Health treatment compliance officers, using their authority to become social control agents for Psychiatry.
As the Director of the Treatment Advocacy Center and the Stanley Medical Research Institute, Edwin Fuller Torrey, NAMI's 'schizophrenia expert,' consultant and resident Hero Psychiatrist, Torrey has helped craft a forced treatment public policy and the agenda to implement it Nationwide. Led by Torrey and funded by The Stanley Family Foundation and BigPharma, who also crafts legislation, directs lobbying efforts, and acts as advisers to National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI claims to be a 'grassroots' advocaes for those who have "mental illness;" however, NAMI has been pushing across the Nation a forced treatment agenda, which belies it's claim to being "grassroots" advocates, and calls into question whether it functions as advocates for "the seriously mentally ill," or for a forced treament agenda.
What I find more than a little strange is the rise of E. Fuller Torrey as an expert on schizphrenia and a proponent of forced treatment. He appears to be a man who jumped on a money train when the opportunity arose. The money train was powered by the generosity of Ted Stanley and elevated Torrey onto a pedestal as the leader of biopsychiatry's forced treatment agenda, funding him as the "founder" of The Stanley Medical Research Institute in 1989 and the Treatment Advocacy Center in 1998. Inexplicably, Torrey was also gifted with an adjunct faculty appointment at George Mason University; even more disturbing: he was made a Professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.
This guy is no scientist, his track record in schizophrenia research speaks of an affinity for ideas which have borne little to no fruit. Torrey's lack of ethical integrity is renown, he has been quoted numerous times advocating for family and friends of people who are diagnosed as mentally ill to lie to the Police and to submit perjured testimony to obtain Court Orders. This so-called expert "advocate for the seriously mentally ill' recommends illegally stripping people of their Liberty, and violating people's rights "for their own good;" in effect, he is advocating ignoring the Ethical Guidelines for Informed Consent.
Psychiatrists and mental health treatment providers coerce and lie to patients, and "support" the family by encouraging them to develop crisis plans for mental health emergencies that put these spurious suggestions in writing. Torrey and his protege, DJ Jaffe, collaborated on a Tip Sheet that suggests family members use false statements, exaggerate events and falsely testify in Court. it goes so far as to say some families have learned to tip over furniture to bolster the false claims. Torrey's goal is obviously to effectively deprive people of their liberty, their human rights, if that costs them their life, it's a "natural death." This is the New World advocacy "for the seriously mentally ill."
Torrey utilizes TAC, his relationship with NAMI, and his bought and paid for Academic posts as a platform to peddle misinformation, fuel bigotry towards the "mentally ill" while advocating for discriminatory treatment of the very people proclaims himself to be an advocate for. As Kenneth S. Lynn, a history professor of Johns Hopkins opined in review of Torrey's book, "The Roots of Treason: Ezra Pound and the Secret of St. Elizabeths" in Commentary Magazine, "Although by all accounts he is an efficient administrator, his achievements as a scientist are dim to the point of invisibility."
In "The Death of Psychiatry" Fuller states, "Diseases are something we have behavior is something we do." He further asserts, "None of the conditions we call mental 'diseases' have any of the structural or functional changes in the brain...this is true of conditions with 'explosive personality' and 'paranoid personality,' but also the behavior we categorize as schizophrenia." Most significantly, Torrey says that warehousing the mentally ill to protect society is not necessary; because the number who are "dangerous is infinitesimal."
In this book, Torrey quotes Dr. Thomas Szasz liberally and with apparent admiration; Torrey even sent an autographed copy to Dr. Szasz as a gift. Dr. Szasz wrote a critique of E. Fuller Torrey; asking a very important question, "If Torrey is as deceitful and disrespectful of the truth in his role as physician to the poor, homeless people as he says he is, why should we assume he is any more honest in his role as brain scientist?" Read Thomas Szasz's Critique:
The mis-treatment of the "seriously mentally ill" is a historical as well as a current day blight on humanity. At the same time that NAMI lobbied for Involuntary Commitment Laws in Washington State, and across the country; there has been a Mental Health Transformation being implemented that is federally funded. The Transformation and NAMI's agenda are contradictory. How is it possible for an advocacy group to advocate those with psychiatric diagnoses to be fully included in all aspects of mental health service planning, policy, and service provision, yet be lobbying for legislation that will deprive the same group of people of Equal Protection under the law?
Why would we as a society want to Court Order people to "treatment" that "effectively "treats" only 26% of adults and 12% of children and adolescents with symptoms of psychosis? The drugs used are teratogenic, expensive, cause several illnesses, leading to increased heath care costs, can be disabling, can diminish quality of life, and can be fatal used as directed? These are not "safe" medications; but they are dangerous drugs. As such, they should not be widely prescribed, or used on everybody with a diagnosis. Since the majority of people do not actually benefit from taking the drugs and the drugs have grave risks why is it that we are forcing people to take them based on the advice of an unethical 'psycho' pharmacologist, pseuo-researcher bigot?
Here in Washington State, NAMI members who are "Peer consumer leaders" or family members of are on committees for charged with transforming the public mental health system into a system that provides client-driven mental health care. The same people advocate for NAMI's forced treatment agenda, and use NAMI National materials and advisers. As far as I can tell from committee member lists, virtually every "community" member, whether a "consumer" or a family member, on every committee for the Mental Health Transformation here in Washington State is a member of NAMI...NAMI's forced treatment agenda is not consistent with full inclusion, or client directed mental health services. Indeed, they are polar opposites. The Federal Mental Health Transformation mandates that the "seriously mentally ill" and their families be involved in the planning, implementation and provision of care. That every aspect of mental health treatment and it's reform be led by those who have in the past or are receiving mental health services. It is obvious to me that ONLY NAMI members and "treatment compliant" mental health clients are brought to the table and allowed to participate.
Special interest groups, like NAMI, and other "stake holders," from the drug industry, government, academia, psychiatry and family advocacy need to respect that Nothing About Us Without Us is not just a slogan; and that the bio-psychiatric paradigm is NOT the only choice, which should be available. It is largely due to the dominance of this incomplete, and ineffective paradigm of care that the Mental Health System is ineffectively "treating" so many.
All of us need to respect the Law of the Land; and recognize that Equal Protection Under the Law, does not mean everybody except those who need care, protection and/or assistance because they are experiencing difficulties or are labeled as mentally ill! It seems to me that we as a society should be more protective of those who need our assistance, not less! How can we pretend to "advocate for them" while failing to protect them from abuse of psychiatrists, or governmental authority and power? There is no advocacy, or therapeutic value evident in a "medical treatment" program which is Legislated without a recognition of and plan for the potential harm that can and will be done when inappropriately implemented.
We, as a society, have a duty to those who have been determined by psychiatrists based on a subjective opinion to be in need of psychiatric treatment by Force of Law, who obtain Court Orders to use teratogenic drugs to Involuntarily 'treat' a person. Individual Rights to Substantive, Procedural Due Process of Law, are Constitutional Rights; e.g. Human Rights. People who have never been given a psychiatric diagnosis, often take these rights for granted. A just society recognizes that Equal Protection under the Law means exactly that. It is discrimination to effectively Under Color of Law to deprive an entire class of people of their Individual Rights due to a psychiatric diagnosis and sentence them to what could literally be a death sentence. If that isn't a STIGMA, I don't know what the hell is! No one can lawfully be deprived of their Liberty without their Individual Rights to Procedural Due Process of Law being protected and defended, except if they have been given a psychiatric diagnosis, is not what the Constitution says.
Advocates like Torrey, must come to the realization that history does not record good intentions; history records events, and an individual's actions. Human beings, even those who are distressed who have a psychiatric diagnosis, can usually tell the difference between benevolent assistance and kind, positive regard and coercion and manipulatoin.
History records actual events; actual human behaviors. The behavior of advocates who rely on using fear, subterfuge, coercion and manipulation to gain conformity and compliance will not be remembered for the good intentions used to justify the inhumane treatment of vulnerable people. All of us will be remembered for what we do, and the effects our behavior had on others. It is the content of our character, and the impact our actions had on others in our family and in our community. Our individual intentions and the motives which compel our behavior, are entirely subjective, open to interpretation; motive and intent are not concrete; actual events and observable behaviors are.
Psychiatric Fraud and Force: A Critique of E. Fuller Torrey
The Journal of Humanistic Psychology Vol. 44 No. 4 (2004) 416-430
This post has been rewritten, first published 12-15-2010 with a different title.
