Shock therapy has been used in psychology and psychiatry for decades. Its application has varied over time according to the psychological currents of the moment and the studies carried out. It is still used today, but the method and application are different, adapted to our needs and safe for the patient. In Psychology-Online we want to update you on what is shock therapy and what is it used for.
The shock therapy It is the induction of a state of physiological shock in an individual in an artificial and controlled way as a treatment for a mental problem.
He is based on the hypothesis that shock states improve the mental state of the patient once he has recovered from treatment.
Manfred J. Sakel, a neurophysiologist and psychiatrist, observed that some of the patients with addiction problems or psychosis improved their mental state after suffering a hypoglycemic crisis. Based on this, he decided to artificially provoke these crises in a controlled way. To do this, he gave patients an overdose of insulin, which caused the glycemic index to drop to the point of causing seizures like those of a
It seems that there were positive changes in the mental state of his patients and that these changes were maintained over time. So when he published the results of his study in 1933, many psychiatrists began using his method. His treatment had such an impact that by 1940 most American hospitals were using it. There were even specific rooms for “insulin shock”.
Sakel estimated the improvement in his patients at 88%. However, subsequent studies decrease that percentage. Some patients died and others called the treatment terrifying.
On the other hand, in 1933, the doctor Ladislaus von Meduna, starting from the premise that epilepsy was incompatible with schizophrenia, devised a treatment to provoke epilepsy and thus end schizophrenia. He tried various substances and finally used cardiazol. This caused epileptic seizures. About 50% improved, but some patients (42%) ended up with shaking fractures.
TO. AND. Bennett, a psychiatrist, proposed using a sedative to control the shaking. In some disorders such as manic or psychotic depression, cardiazole showed an improvement in 80% of patients. For schizophrenia, on the other hand, insulin shock was more effective.
Later, these therapies were replaced by Electroconvulsive therapy. In its early days, electroconvulsive therapy was based on the same premise that epilepsy and schizophrenia are incompatible. The histologist Cerletti thought that he could generate the seizures from electric shocks in the patient and thus treat schizophrenia. Seeing the good results that he obtained with his technique, the researcher thought that the brain produced a substance contrary to mental illness during the electroshock. He even gave a name to that substance that could never be identified or isolated: acroagonin.
Electroconvulsive therapy has since been used in different ways. Currently, some mild and localized discharges and the patient receives them with anesthesia. It is often used as a treatment for refractory depression or Bipolar disorder if other treatments have been tried that have not been effective.
The functionality of shock therapies has varied throughout its history, but their common point is the treatment of psychological problems or mental disorders.
Initially it was used primarily for the treatment of schizophrenia on the premise (later proven wrong) that schizophrenia was incompatible with epilepsy.
The Electroconvulsive therapy this indicated for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder when other techniques have been tried without results.
Currently the shock therapy used is exposure therapy. Physiological changes are not induced by substances, but by the exposure to stimuli.
The exposure technique It consists of exposing the patient to the feared in a controlled and supervised situation to the stimulus that causes fear. The patient is exposed to the dreaded situation. You experience some unpleasant sensations, especially just before the exposure. During the exhibition those unpleasant sensations are diminishing. The patient's sense of well-being and self-confidence increase. He feels better about himself for having overcome that exposure and the fear associated with it diminishes or disappears when he realizes that his worst fears have not been fulfilled.
This technique is indicated in the treatment of phobias, Some anxiety disorders and the obsessive compulsive disorder.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
