Language
Country/Area
No result found
The Psychiatrist's Secret Experiment: How Did Deep Sleep Therapy Become Popular in History?
During the mid-20th century, deep sleep therapy (DST) became a controversial treatment method in psychiatry. The practice has sometimes been accompanied by shocking consequences, particularly at Chelmsford Private Hospital in Australia, where tragic events have raised profound questions about the effectiveness and ethics of the treatment. .
The origin of deep sleep therapy
The prototype of deep sleep therapy can be traced back to the early 20th century. Scottish psychiatrist Neil Macleod was one of the first doctors to try to introduce sleep into psychiatric therapy. He used sodium bromide to induce sleep in a small number of psychiatric patients, however his practice was quickly abandoned by other physicians, possibly because it was considered too harmful or hasty.
Over time, this treatment method was accepted and promoted by a number of prominent psychiatrists, particularly in Britain and North America in the 1950s and 1960s.
Swiss psychiatrist Jakob Klaesi popularized deep sleep therapy in the 1920s, using a mixture of two barbiturates named Somnifen. This method gradually became popular in mental hospitals at the time, especially to treat patients with schizophrenia.
The Chelmsford Hospital Tragedy
Between 1962 and 1979, Dr. Harry Bailey performed deep sleep therapy at Chelmsford Private Hospital in New South Wales. His treatment often involves prolonged barbiturate-induced coma and is indicated for a variety of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and depression.
During this process, at least 25 patients died due to treatment, and this incident became a dark history in the medical community.
As public pressure increased, a series of media reports about Chelmsford Hospital emerged. In the early 1980s, the Sydney Morning Herald and the 60 Minutes television program revealed brutal truths about the hospital, prompting an investigation and the establishment of the Chelmsford Royal Commission.
Patient’s Voice
Many patient memoirs provide a personal perspective on deep sleep therapy. In 1970, Toni Lamond had a disturbing experience in the hospital. She described: "I saw some patients in the hospital who were still sleeping and did not realize the passage of time until ten days later." This loss of time and deprivation of self-memory makes people think deeply about the real effect of therapy.
Modern Controversies
Even today, the echoes of deep sleep therapy remain. Public controversy over similar treatments arose again in New South Wales in 2011, when government officials mentioned that the use of a combination of anesthesia and electroconvulsive therapy was still being used in certain circumstances, emphasizing that this was for the safety of patients and staff.
These events have raised heightened awareness about the ethics of mental health treatment and whether treatments should be re-evaluated and improved.
The fate of the victims in the Chelmsford incident has also sparked discussions about medical liability and the rights of mental health patients. Does treatment actually help, or is it just a temporary anesthesia? This most controversial therapy in history has caused a profound reflection on the ethical standards of the medical community, leading us to think about whether we have ignored the basic human rights of patients while pursuing therapeutic effects.
When faced with the historical lessons and ethical dilemmas of deep sleep therapy, what lessons should today’s medical practice draw from to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated?
