ORLANDO, Fla. - Marylandian -- Students and the general public toured an exhibit highlighting the history of psychiatry and exposing mental health abuse last month in the University of Central Florida (UCF) Student Union.

Raising awareness on the harsh realities of psychiatric abuse to tens of thousands across the world each year, the traveling exhibit, Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, documents the origins of psychiatry including its blatant disregard for human rights; psychiatry's social control and profit-driven motives; and psychiatric "treatments" that result in debilitation and death.

Hosted by the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), an award-winning nonprofit that exposes abuse in the mental health industry, the exhibit was toured by veterans, law enforcement and students, including psychology majors. Stating that they have seen the abuses shown in the exhibit firsthand, many of these individuals pledged to work with CCHR to help prevent mental health abuses in Florida.

After being toured, a UCF student majoring in psychology originated that she had decided to become a psychiatrist because she wanted to help people. However, after touring, she was shocked. She said, "I want to help people – I don't want to do this! (pointing to the exhibit) This changes everything. I'm really glad I came."

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The ribbon cutting event for the exhibit was held in the Student Union known as the "heart of the campus". Speaking at the event was the Honorable Antonio "Tony" Ortiz, the first and only Puerto Rican elected official to hold a position as Commissioner of the City of Orlando. Mr. Ortiz was toured through the exhibit and said the following, "I think this is extremely important and this exhibit needs to be seen by everyone. The abuse in the institutions is really horrible. I can see the amount of pressure that Big Pharma and all of the money in the drug companies put onto legislators and this is something we need to change. The Baker Act is a real problem and law enforcement needs to be more educated on this. The booklet CCHR provides on parental rights looks like a major asset to the communities here in Orlando. Thank you so much for inviting me to this very important event and I look forward to working with CCHR in the future."

The Florida chapter of CCHR also has a permanent installation of this exhibit located in their center in downtown Clearwater. Unveiled in July of 2015, the Florida version of the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death museum presents the unvarnished history of psychiatry while also providing information on the state of psychiatry today. Consisting of 14 audiovisual displays revealing the cold, hard facts about psychiatric abuses, the museum uses interviews from more than 160 doctors, attorneys, educators and survivors to expose the multi-billion dollar fraud that is psychiatry.

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Over 10,000 people have toured the Florida museum including students from nursing schools and technical colleges from across the state who come to the museum to go through the 2-hour self-guided tour as part of their clinical days finding the experience to be informative and eye opening. Coupling tours of the museum with seminars and workshops delivered by attorneys and healthcare professionals on the mental health law, known as the Baker Act, CCHR is working to educate lawmakers, doctors and all private citizens on mental health abuse and their rights under the law. The museum is open from 10:30am until 6pm Monday through Friday and from 2pm until 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. Events are held weekly and monthly. Both are free to the general public. To learn more, please call 727-442-8820 or visit www.cchrflorida.org.

About CCHR: Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHR's mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, first brought psychiatric imprisonment to wide public notice: "Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the 'free world' tortured, castrated, killed.  All in the name of 'mental health,'" he wrote in March 1969.