shock therapy

noun

: the treatment of mental illness by the artificial induction of coma or convulsions through use of drugs or electric current

called also shock treatment

Examples of shock therapy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Milei, a right-wing libertarian who has applied shock therapy to Argentina’s economy since taking office in late 2023, has come under increasing pressure from the opposition, which has accused him of neglecting Argentina’s sovereignty claim. — ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026

Díaz-Canel in particular has been responding to pushback from ideological hardliners within the government and the Party, and to pushback from a population concerned about shock therapy measures. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026

In another, she is given botched electroconvulsive shock therapy without even a muscle relaxer. — Literary Hub, 1 July 2026

The shock therapy treatment has faced legal challenges for years. — O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 1 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shock therapy

• brachytherapy
• chemotherapy
• cryotherapy
• hydrotherapy
• hypnotherapy
• monotherapy
• phototherapy
• psychotherapy
• sclerotherapy
• immunotherapy
• pharmacotherapy
• physiotherapy

Medical Definition

shock therapy

noun

: the treatment of mental illness by the artificial induction of coma or convulsions through use of drugs or electric current

called also convulsive therapy

see electroconvulsive therapy