Scientology and Psychiatry

What does Scientology teach about psychiatry?

While they sometimes project the image that they're mainly intent on stopping psychiatric abuses, the truth is that Scientology is trying to destroy psychiatry altogether.

To newcomers and the general public, Scientology teaches that psychology is worthless and psychiatry is destructive. In their official publication What Is Scientology?, they state that psychology "provides no means of producing actual improvement" and that psychiatry has "no tools at all for dealing with the mentally ill". According to the book, psychiatry stands for "ineffectiveness, lies and inhuman brutality. Its basic assumption revolved around the idea that with enough punishment, anyone could be restored to sanity ..."

However, in more advanced Scientology studies, members read a Scientology bulletin called "Pain and Sex", which states that sex is unnatural for humans and a perversion, and that sex was invented by psychiatrists millions of years ago to trap us. It says that "pain and sex were the INVENTED TOOLS of degradation" created by psychiatrists, and "the stocks-in-trade of psychs are PAIN and SEX." This is a key teaching behind Scientology's vehement opposition to all forms of psychiatry - the bulletin says that psychiatrists "have been on the [time] track a long time [in other words, they've been around for millions of years] and are the sole cause of decline in this universe."

What evidence is there that Scientology wants to eradicate psychiatry?

In 1969, L. Ron Hubbard wrote a confidential memo to his wife, then head of Scientology's espionage branch, called "The War". In it, he envisioned Scientologists destroying psychiatry and replacing it with Scientology:

"Our war has been forced to become 'To take over absolutely the field of mental healing on this planet in all forms. ... Our total victory will come when we run [the psychiatrist's] organisations, perform his functions and obtain his financing and appropriations."

On October 7, 1995, Scientology's Chairman of the Board, David Miscavige, spoke to tens of thousands of Scientologists around the world. He set a goal for Scientologists - destroying psychiatry in five years:

"There are a lot of opinions out there as to what is wrong with Earth, 1995. But if you really want to eliminate those problems all you have to do is work for the objectives that we, as members of the IAS, have set for the year 2000: Objective One - place Scientology at the absolute forefront of Society. Objective Two - eliminate psychiatry in all its forms. Let's get rid of psychiatry, and let's bring Scientology to every man, woman and child on this planet."

International Scientology News Issue 38, published in 1995, covered the speech, reiterated the two objectives, and described how Scientology's president, Heber Jentzsch, then gave Scientologists "an in-depth and illuminating look at the degree to which the psychs are failing. He then revealed plans to terminatedly eradicate this dying breed by the year 2000."

International Scientology News Issue 29, published in 2004 (yes, the numbering of Scientology magazines is often confusing), featured an article called "Closing the Book on Psychiatric Terror: Our crushing international assault on psychiatry". The article says that keeping Scientology available to people "requires the eradication of the 'whos' behind all that humankind detests: psychiatry." It quotes Scientology Chairman David Miscavige: "While they may be a monolithic evil from the whole track, it is truly within our reach to end their terror." It gives Scientology front group CCHR credit for sending 1,215 psychiatrists to jail, and ends: "... what comes next is an all-out assault guaranteed to leave psychs nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, clearing the road to freedom for all." (All except psychiatrists, apparently.)

Scientology's War on Psychiatry Costs Money and Affects Your Choices

How does Scientology's attempt to destroy psychiatry affect society?

Scientologists lobby heavily to eliminate government funding for psychiatric treatment and research, and works hard to defeat laws that would require insurance companies to pay for psychiatric treatment in the same way they pay for other medical treatments (often known as funding parity laws). Scientologists also often testify at legislative hearings on proposed laws affecting mental health treatment, claiming there's no scientific basis for the medical treatment of psychiatric illnesses. Lawmakers are rarely aware that Scientologists believe psychiatrists have been directly causing every problem known to humans for the past many millions of years.

In addition, Scientology front group CCHR brings lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies (seen by Scientologists as evil for making and selling psychiatric medications). These lawsuits cost taxpayer dollars in the form of court costs, and further increase the costs of a wide range of medications by forcing drug companies - who often manufacture a wide range of drugs and rarely restrict themselves to psychiatric medications - to spend money on the case.

More Information about Scientology's Attack on Psychiatry:

Scientology's Secret War Against Psychiatry, by Chris Owen

Hubbard quotes on psychiatry and psychology

news articles on Scientology's attacks on psychiatry