International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry (ISEPP)
5884 Joshua Place
Welcome, MD 20693
psychintegrity@gmail.compsychintegrity.orgThe International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry, Inc. (ISEPP) is a 501(3)(c) non-profit volunteer organization of mental health professionals, physicians, educators, ex-patients and survivors of the mental health system, and their families. We are not affiliated with any political or religious group.
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.