http://psychintegrity.org/

Our mission is to use the standards of scientific inquiry to address the ethics of psychology and psychiatry. We strive to educate our members and the public about the nature of “mental illness”, the de-humanizing and coercive aspects of many forms of mental health treatment, and the alternative humane ways of helping people who struggle with very difficult life issues. We believe this is essential since one of the most cherished principles in the mental health field is “informed consent”. That means you should be fully and honestly informed about the problems you are experiencing, and the full risks and benefits of any treatment, before making truly voluntary decisions about your care. Our goal is to fully inform you.

At the heart of our critique is the fact that “mental illnesses” are not literal illnesses like diabetes and cancer. Despite popular media portrayal, decades of scientific research have failed to demonstrate any biological pathology that causes “mental illness”. For this reason, they should not be considered medical problems and traditional medical treatment is not a solution. In particular, psychiatric drugs only temporarily mask emotions. Not only does this masking prevent people from understanding their problems and making important life changes, these drugs carry with them a whole host of dangerous effects that typically are not explained to the user when prescribing them.

The experience of “mental illness” is a natural human reaction to extraordinary and painful life circumstances. To help those who are experiencing these problems, we advocate various forms of psychotherapy, support groups, self-help programs, and help with employment, education, housing, exercise, nutrition, and other issues of living. We also urge the ruling out of literal diseases that can mimic psychological problems.

Sometimes the biggest form of help comes from just knowing you are not abnormal and there are others willing to listen to you, understand what you are going through, and appreciate you as a fellow human being. The only way to restore one’s humanity is through humanity.