Photo of Brian Henley
Update on 7/27/2021
Here is a recording of a voicemail left by Brian on the phone of Michele Diamond, when Brian learned that his Shield alert was successful and that he would be discharged
MFI has confirmed that Brian was discharged. You can listen to Update on 7/14/21. Great news! The forced shocking of Brian Henley has been suspended! Thank you for writing letters, making phone calls, and sending emails! Your actions made a difference! Michelle will be issuing a statement soon letting you know when we can expect Brian to be discharged.
Update to Alert 7/8/2021 (Previous updates from 7/1/2021, 6/25/2021, and prior have been removed for brevity)
Note: Updates on 7/8/2021 compliments of Michele Diamond, Patient Advocate for US Civil and Human Rights who agreed to serve as the the volunteer Shield campaign manager for Brian Henley.
After the reading Michele’s updates below, MFI recommends taking specific action to stop the shocking, by force, of Brian Henley today. To view recommended actions, scroll down to
“ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY TO STOP THE FORCED SHOCK OF BRIAN HENLEY”
Wondering what to say when taking action? View examples of other people’s letters/emails/complaints by scrolling down to “EXAMPLES OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON BEHALF OF BRIAN HENLEY”
Any questions or comments about this campaign? Post them our SHIELD FEED HERE located at the very bottom of this PAGE You should also post what actions you took on the feed This allows us to archive your actions and the responses you receive.
UPDATES
1) Response and acknowledgment from the Florida Governor’s office received. They have forwarded the information to the 2 appropriate agencies for follow-up. View letter from Inspector General HERE but do not share (Redactions are solely to protect the personal information of Shield member who filed the complaint) and discretion is requested so as not to derail the investigation which may include an unannounced visit.
2) Brian was subjected, by force, to his 10th ECT but said 9th last night on Michele’s voicemail. (According to Michelle the 10th because Friday would have been 12 if there wasn’t a holiday.) His calls have shortened in length since Monday 7/5. No calls to Michele from Monday evening to Wednesday evening when he did leave a message. (I thought due to the hurricane in Florida) but no answer to the hospital phones Monday evening and Tuesday evening.
(He is forgetting things, mixing up his words, he can’t find some words, and has been repeating himself since the ECT treatments began.) But, he still sounds very clear.
3) A passcode was put onto all of Brain’s incoming calls as of Tuesday 6/29 without his awareness. He was informed by me on Wed. 6/30 after probing evening staff for information and his suspicions were true that they were blocking his calls. Shield members: Please remember that this is a violation of patient rights and please include this in your letters/complaints/calls/emails
4) A 3-way conference call took place with Dr. Lim the Administrator that oversees Psych Dept. at UF Health Shands and the Pt. Safety department last week although they could not elaborate on anything whatsoever nor talk about anything regarding Brian. I responded that I did not know why the call took place then and that the call was then unsuccessful and there has been no resolution to the issues of concern. They were both questioned why there was a passcode calling into Brain without his awareness, placed on his communications on Tuesday 6/29 the day after they received the Complaint and Grievance. It was made clear during the call that this is a clear Patient Rights violation by restricting his phone calls. Dr. Lim had no further comments. But the call was still a success and the response was very shocking to receive one at all.
4) Emails and calls to MHA – Mental Health Association have all been ignored after 5 attempts. The Ombudsman refuses to do her job of investigating with the hospital. If someone wants to continue to file complaints through their website this would be helpful because its documented through the website messages. Walton County MHA. (see directions below for contacting this agency)
5) A request for a Social Worker to meet with Brian happened on Monday 7/5 by a message left for Pt. Experience at Shands. I asked if they can talk to Brian regarding his housing situation and asked them to look into a housing subsidy for him. He would only pay 30% of his income towards rent, not his whole check. The government has released billions or trillions of dollars toward housing and rental assistance just last month to states. Brain has been entitled to housing assistance and I am in agreement with Brain that the Assisted Living situation is not a healthy place for him to live and the treatment has not been a success according to Brain.
6) Multiple calls have been placed out to Risk Management as he is the contact person regarding all these matters. I have STRONGLY voiced our opinion and the facts of this harm and injustice, stating that “we” speak to him daily and it’s obvious that the guardian does not care about his health (his guardian had Zero contact with him for the first 3 weeks) She hasn’t heard what we hear daily nor had she been able to observe his deterioration in Brian’s health. It was communicated that all of these concerns will be addressed although no response can really be made. The last conversation happened with the point of contact Friday 7/2.
7) Morgan and Morgan attorney’s (The largest law firm in the world) took Brian’s intake the other day from me and I just gave them his number at the East Wing at the nurses station to speak with him directly. They need to speak with him directly now. I’m sure this is going to ruffle some more feathers. For those who pray, please pray consistently for Brian and that Justice is served, he goes home, gets well and if the legal case can move forward, it will turn out for his benefit and benefit those that come after him.
8) I was just told by Ann Fuller (mother of psychiatric survivor Charles Helmer) that they started Brian on a new drug. I haven’t spoken to him yet but maybe they have finally prescribed him the Gabapentin he has been asking for. Just maybe they are actually giving the medical attention he should have had from day 1. Still no x-ray of his shoulder from the fall before the ER trip.
9) Brain has communicated all along that he has a heart condition which could possibly be deadly for him to be undergoing these procedures with the risk of heart complications as a major side effect.
An update will follow on 7/15 Michele Diamond
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY
Contact the Doc Who is Shocking Brian Henley by Force:
Dr. Richard Holbert MD
Background of Dr. Holbert HERE
Call him at his first workplace
352-265-4357
Send emails to Dr. Holbert at his university workplace l:
Write to him at one or more of his following personal email addresses
Write formal letters:
Dr. Richard Holbert MD
UF Health Psychiatric Hospital
4101 NW 89th Blvd
Gainesville, FL 32606
Contact CEO of Health Shands, the network of hospitals that is shocking Brian:
Write: Edward Jimenez
Call: Edward Jimenez
(352) 733-1500
Contact the ombudsman
According to Frank Blankenship, the ombudsman in Florida is associated with Mental Health America (the organization that uses a liberty bell as their symbol) Let them know that Brian Henley is being subjected by force to shock, euphemistically known as ‘ECT’ or ‘electro-convulsive therapy’ a ‘treatment’ that is extremely controversial and known to be harmful, causing permanent brain damage
http://www.mhaow.org/programs/ombudsman.html
Brian is also at risk of being remanded to NE Florida State Hospital close to Jacksonville, far away from his support system, according to Frank Blankenship, a friend of Brian. Contact Brian’s social worker to demand other options for Brian, such as those suggested above.
This is the first time you heard about the Shield Alert of Brian Henley?
Brian is young by many people’s standards, at 44, he was living in an assisted living facility near Orlando for years, after an episode in which he tried to harm himself. When he attempted to elope from this unhealthy living environment with the assistance of a friend, he was apprehended and taken by force Shand’s Vista, University of Florida teaching hospital where is he has been subjected to heavy drugging and shock torture AGAINST HIS EXPRESSED CONSENT for the past three weeks. His friend Frank, thinks that they may move him to Florida State Hospital. This is why your actions today are so important!
Please demand that the hospital stop shocking Brian immediately. Please demand that he be released to a non -restrictive environment where he can heal from psychiatric harm, including all forced (court-ordered) drugging which he finds harmful and ineffective. Please demand that he receive the support he needs to live independently in his community including appropriate medical treatment for a heart condition (that may be iatrogenic; related to years of forced psychiatric drugging).
A more detailed history of Brian Henley can be found HERE
Brian activated his Shield protection about ten years ago. You can read the past Shield alert HERE
Please write to the ombudsman below and let them know that Brian Henley is being subjected by force to shock, euphemistically known as ‘ECT’ or ‘electro-convulsive therapy’ a ‘treatment’ that is extremely controversial and known to be harmful, causing permanent brain damage
EXAMPLES OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON BEHALF OF BRIAN HENLEY
Letter by Michele Diamond to Governor click HERE
Letter by Maeghan Graef to CEO of Shands hospital where Brian is being shocked click HERE
Take action today and post YOUR ACTIONS on MFI’s Shield feed Click HERE
I looked up the state legislators for the address of the UF Health hospital above.
UF Health Psychiatric Hospital
4101 NW 89th Blvd
Gainesville, FL 32606
https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/MyElectedOfficials?lat=29.6917245&long=-82.4359504
I went to the personal/government sites of them and messaged them.
Senator Keith Perry
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s08
Representative Charles Wesley “Chuck” Clemons, Sr.
https://chuckclemons.com/
Representative Kat Cammack
https://cammack.house.gov/contact
I also sent emails to Holbert and Jimenez.
Thanks Chris!❤❤
Great! Good work Chris! Thank you for being apart of the Campaign too!
Has anyone looked into getting an injunction to stop the forced drugging?
I just tried to call Brian and they wouldn’t put me through because I didn’t have the passcode even after I told them I was an attorney with the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights. They hung up when I asked them to give Brian my phone number.
That is unacceptable. I hope the staff told Brian you called.
I doubt it Sarah. Miss Ann the daytime RN did the same to me. She was a very nasty woman. She told me that she can’t do anything unless I gave her the passcode. She wouldn’t put me on the phone with her supervisor either the 2 times I asked her. I told her “You know that you are breaking the law correct?” I guess that prompted her abrupt hang up.
😟
I regard this psychiatric facility to be predators of the poor and vulnerable.
Well stated!
I have just emailed Dr. Holbert. I am also going to email the Governor of Florida and Senator Keith Perry.
Joanna–Thank you for writing two letters for Brian! The motto of the Shield is “One for all and all for one!”
Today I called the hospital where Brian is being abused, warned them that they are breaking international law by administering torture to him, and told the nurse to advise his Dr. to call me back. As “patients” of mental health, we know how abusive and downright evil these doctors and their secret “treatments” can be, which is why they ban phones and cameras from the ward. Any and all psychiatric treatment that is forced is traumatic and brain damaging. The torture must stop!
Keetah–Thanks for calling the hospital. I think you are making a difference!
Great Job Keetah! I’m glad to hear this today.
Keetah, I’m curious to know if they even took down your number for the doctor.
Thanks!
Sent a letter to CEO of Health Shands, Edward Jimenez.
Ari–thanks for sending a letter to the CEO of Shands. Feel free to post a copy in this comments section. New members sometimes ask for an ‘example’
Florida medical is a different animal. A threat of a writ of habeas corpus was effective on the release of a pysch patient decades ago.
You have attorneys in your org and have you considered this action?
Linda, thank you for the great suggestion!
Sarah,
Who are the attorney’s that are licensed in the State of Florida that are part of the Shield?
Sent, 7/10/2021:
Dear Florida Governor,
Brian Henley is being electroshocked by court order at UF Shands Health Hospital. Please put an immediate end to these civil rights abuses. Psychiatry is known for its excesses and should not be above the law and the protections engendered in the Constitution for all citizens.
—
Thank you,
Larry M. Taylor, Ph.D.
Thank you Larry. Short and sweet but it says it all!
I love this Larry! Thank you for joining in too!
I made a graphic for social media after the first alert so that we can get the word out, feel free to repost/reuse if you want to post on IG about it. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQWVtbTnHhP/?utm_medium=copy_link
Thank you Maggie! I will check it out as soon as I can!
Today’s Action for me was of a different one then the Alert actions recommended.
Today I faxed the Hospital Patient Safety Department/Patient Experience Department with requests for Brian to receive the following 3 hospital services while he is still there.
1) A Hospital Chaplain for Spiritual Care
2) A Patient Advocate to Voice his concerns with directly
3) A Social worker for community services to set up for Brian and potential new housing in the future.
Brian deserves to live the rest of his life Free from Institutions and Physical harm. I’m a safe and healing environment also.
“in” a safe and healing environment.
Michele, those are really important actions to make. Spiritual and social support can be critical. Thank you for all your great advocacy work on behalf of Brian!
It’s a pleasure to help Brian.
MHA of Walton County states the following under Consumer Rights. You Have the Right To:
Be treated with dignity and respect.
Help develop a plan of care and services, which meets your unique needs.
Refuse any proposed treatment.
Receive care, which does not discriminate against you and is sensitive to your gender, race, national origin, language, age, disability, and sexual orientation.
Receive an explanation of all medications prescribed, including expected effects and possible side effects.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Review the agency’s grievance policy.
Lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman, or provider, if you believe that your rights have been violated or needs are not being met by services offered.
Be free from any retaliation if you lodge a complaint.
Please continue to address these violations with them. Thank you!
MindFreedom is proud to announce that Michele Diamond has agreed to be the Volunteer Shield Campaign Manager for Brian Henley. Michele is a tireless warrior for human rights. When writing to public officials, Michele describes herself as a “Patient Advocate for U.S. Civil and Human Rights” While staying in direct contact with Brian through his ordeal of forced shock at Shands, Michele has worked tirelessly since Brian activated his alerts; her actions have started to make public officials take notice in Florida. Michele reminds us to be proud of who we are and the power of one person to make a difference. Together, we can be even more powerful Please join me in supporting Michele in pursuit of justice and emancipation for Brian Henley!
Thank you Sarah.
It’s been my pleasure to help protect Patient Rights, defend their freedoms and free liberties while exposing violations and harm being done.
I thank you again for your recognition and warm welcome. It’s been an honor and a pleasure supporting Brian through this.
Michele
In Monday July 12th mail drop I left a $300.00 donation to MFI earmarked Shield, and wrote a letter. I know only to well about arbitrary and nontransparent mental health inflictions.
gary3.ahl@gmail.com, Sorry I did not write all the suggested persons and agencies.
Gary–I dont know what MFI would have done without your loyal support all these years! Thanks to members like you–the Shield program can help many people in the future and will continue to raise awareness about harmful treatment by force.