The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) in the New Zealand is a branch of the non-profit, non-political, non-religious international mental health watchdog.

It functions solely as a mental health watchdog, investigating abuses in the fields of psychiatry and psychology. Anyone who has experienced mental health abuse is asked to contact CCHR to report what happened.

It was co-founded in 1969 by members of the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Dr. Thomas Szasz. It was at a time when patients were being warehoused in institutions, abused, stripped of their constitutional, civil and human rights and were therefore left without recourse. There was no public accountability and external review of psychiatry’s abusive practices was non-existent. Damaging treatment could be given to patients without their consent and often without their knowledge.

CCHR has long fought to restore basic inalienable human rights to the field of mental health, including, but not limited to, full informed consent regarding the medical legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosis, the risks of psychiatric treatments, the right to all available medical alternatives and the right to refuse any treatment considered harmful. CCHR does not advocate any particular treatment, but does advocate giving people information about alternatives and resources to assist them in finding non-harmful solutions.

On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This has been the foundation of all human rights legislation since that time and is at the heart of CCHR’s work.

Accordingly, CCHR works to eradicate psychiatric abuse and brutality in the field of mental health, bringing about safety and security for those suffering any degree of mental troubles.

CCHR’s work, to expose the falsehoods, has seen it become a powerful voice in the vanguard of mental health reform.