CCHR Calls for Mandatory Medical Testing to Prevent Psychiatric Misdiagnosis and Unnecessary Drugging

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is advocating for the nationwide adoption of mandatory medical testing to rule out physical conditions that mimic psychiatric symptoms, a move that could prevent unnecessary diagnoses and the prescription of mind-altering drugs. This call follows recent guidance from Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, which recommends completing a full physical examination, including laboratory tests for nutritional, endocrine, and blood disorders, heavy metals, and mold exposure, before any psychotropic drug is considered for children aged 5-17.

The urgency of this issue is underscored by statistics showing that over 76 million Americans take psychiatric drugs, including approximately 45 million on antidepressants. Among these, 6.1 million are children and adolescents aged 0-17, with 2.1 million prescribed antidepressants that are not recommended for pediatric use due to suicide risks. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also recommended a nationwide plan to deprescribe antidepressants and curb psychiatric drug prescribing, particularly in children, prioritizing informed consent, prevention, transparency, holistic care, and safe drug withdrawal.

The consequences of skipping physical testing can be catastrophic. CCHR cites cases where patients endured years of psychiatric treatment for symptoms that were later found to be caused by untreated brain tumors. For instance, one patient suffered five years of psychiatric treatment for headaches, dizziness, and a staggering gait before a medical examination revealed a brain tumor. More recently, in 2025, Sarah-Jane Doherty, 24, from Doncaster, UK, was misdiagnosed as bipolar and prescribed an antipsychotic that worsened her condition. A CT scan and MRI later revealed a brain tumor requiring surgery.

CCHR's 57-year history as a mental health industry watchdog has repeatedly demonstrated that psychiatrists fail to properly diagnose medical conditions. In 1982, CCHR helped orchestrate a California law that established a pilot project to provide medical evaluation of people admitted to public psychiatric hospitals. Findings published in 1989 showed that many patients had physical diseases that had been undiagnosed by mental health professionals, and 80 percent of those screened showed neurologic abnormalities, many induced by the psychotropic drugs themselves. The California Mental Health Medical Evaluation Field Manual states that mental health professionals "have a professional and a legal obligation to recognize the presence of physical disease in their patients."

The CATO Institute confirms that psychiatric diagnoses differ from most of medicine because they rely on subjective mental and behavioral phenomena instead of physical symptoms or biomarkers. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has progressively broadened the boundaries of major psychiatric categories, leading to less precision in diagnosis. The DSM-IV-TR itself notes that symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder are identical to those of general medical conditions such as weight loss with untreated diabetes or fatigue with cancer.

Dr. Mary Ann Block, DO, emphasizes, "Everyone deserves to have a physician who will take a thorough history, do a complete physical exam, and look for the true underlying medical cause of a person's symptoms. No one should accept a doctor who just listens to your chief complaint and hands you a prescription."

Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International, states, "Workable alternatives to psychiatric drugging exist and must be prioritized. The evidence from Florida's guidance, the California pilot studies, and physicians shows that thorough medical evaluation routinely uncovers treatable physical causes and ends the need for mind-altering drugs. The federal deprescribing initiative, with its emphasis on consent, prevention, and holistic care, offers a critical opportunity to embed mandatory medical testing as standard practice nationwide."

CCHR concludes that protecting patients from unnecessary drug exposure begins with ruling out real, treatable medical disease. For more information on the harms of antidepressants, CCHR has released a white paper titled Antidepressants: A Public Health Catastrophe – Evidence of Harm, Decades of Cover-Up, and the Urgent Need for Reform on its website.