MindFreedom Shield Launched Online

Krista Erickson, MindFreedom board member and chair of the MindFreedom Shield Program, announced that members may now conveniently sign up for the program online. Attorney Jim Gottstein, founder of MFI Sponsor Group PsychRights, provided much-appreciated assistance and advice in setting up the original program, and moving it online.

Welcome, information and public director for the MindFreedom Shield.

MindFreedom International issues alerts about individuals at risk of or currently experiencing involuntary psychiatric procedures, including on an outpatient basis while living peacefully in the community in their own residences.

For example, occasionally these public alerts have led to some members who are experiencing coerced outpatient psychiatric drugging to find resources assisting them to relocate to avoid their forced psychiatric procedures. This in no way implies that MindFreedom, its board or members -- nor the individuals escaping forced outpatient psychiatry -- are in any way involved in, aiding, supporting or condoning any illegal activity, directly or indirectly.

MindFreedom International has a track record of taking constructive, nonviolent action when we are notified that a person is being subjected to coerced or forced psychiatric procedures. In order to better utilize our very limited resources, we have established the MindFreedom Shield Program.

The MindFreedom Shield Program is a coordinated registration system and solidarity network of MindFreedom members who want to have as much protection as possible from coerced or forced psychiatric treatment. The MindFreedom Shield is not meant to replace a formal psychiatric "advance directive," which is a legal document we highly recommend people fill out. MindFreedom does not have the resources to assist in completing an advance directive.

If a member who has registered a MindFreedom Shield is, to the best of our ability, verifiably found by MindFreedom to be subjected to coerced or forced psychiatric treatment, an alert will be sent to the MindFreedom Solidarity Network on that person's behalf. Everyone in the MindFreedom Solidarity Network is expected to participate in constructive, nonviolent action recommended in the alert received to support the person for whom an alert has been issued. 

While no one can guarantee the results of issuing human rights alerts, it has been our experience that public awareness can often reduce, if not end, situations of coerced or forced psychiatric treatment. In any case, the MindFreed Shield serves to educate the public that coerced and forced psychiatric procedures continue to harm the human rights of people internationally.