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 The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center can continue to use electric shock therapy on patients with developmental and intellectual disabilities, but state agencies can challenge the practice on a case-by-case basis in probate court, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday. John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2023 Rotenberg is the only facility in the nation to use shock therapy, which disability activists condemn as a form of abuse. John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2023 But in its ruling, the court affirmed the finding of a lower court that the state had improperly used its regulatory powers in an effort to force the center to close down and that as of 2016 there was no medical consensus for or against the use of electric shock therapy. John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2023 Nostrums such as shock therapy and stem cells rose and fell, dividing the community in their wake. Jason Mast Reprints, STAT, 30 June 2023 Interwoven with this harrowing familial story is the history of how the science on schizophrenia has fitfully evolved, from the eras of institutionalization and shock therapy, to the profound disagreements about the cause and origins of the illness, to the search for genetic markers. Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2020 One of my favorites was electric shock therapy. Longreads, 4 Mar. 2020 In a nutshell, in the 1970s the church preached that homosexuality was a terrible sin, excommunicated members for being gay, encouraged electric shock therapy at BYU and told gay men that if they’d just get married in the temple to a righteous woman, they’d be cured. The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 June 2022 The center, which cares for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, seems to be the only institution in the United States using shock therapy on its students to correct self-harming and aggressive behavior, according to the FDA. Steven Vargas, USA TODAY, 16 July 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shock therapy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shock therapy was in 1917

Dictionary Entries Near shock therapy

Cite this Entry

“Shock therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shock%20therapy. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

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

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