Deep Sleep Therapy
Encyclopedia
Deep sleep therapy also called prolonged sleep treatment or continuous narcosis, is a psychiatric treatment based on the use of psychiatric drugs to render patients unconscious for a period of days or weeks.
for psychiatric purposes was first tried by Scottish
psychiatrist Neil Macleod at the turn of the 20th century. He used bromide
sleep in a few psychiatric patients, one of whom died. His method was adopted by some other physicians but soon abandoned, perhaps because it was considered too toxic or reckless. In 1915, Giuseppe Epifanio tried barbiturate-induced sleep therapy in a psychiatric clinic in Italy
, but his reports made little impact.
Deep sleep therapy was popularized in the 1920s by Swiss psychiatrist Jakob Klaesi
, using a combination of two barbiturates marketed as Somnifen by pharmaceutical company
Roche. Klaesi's method became widely known and was used in some mental hospitals in the 1930s and 1940s. It was adopted and promoted by some leading psychiatrists in the 1950s and 1960s, such as William Sargant
in the UK and by Donald Ewen Cameron
, a North American psychiatrist of Scottish origin practicing in Canada
, some of whose research was funded by the CIA as part of their Project MKULTRA
.
Sargant wrote in his standard textbook An introduction to physical methods of treatment in psychiatry:
and other therapies) by Harry Bailey
between 1962 and 1979 in Sydney
, at the Chelmsford Private Hospital. As practised by Bailey, deep sleep therapy involved long periods of barbiturate
-induced unconsciousness. DST was prescribed for various conditions ranging from schizophrenia
and depression
to obesity
, PMS
and addiction
.
Twenty-six patients died at Chelmsford Private Hospital during the 1960s and 1970s, with only perfunctory investigation by authorities. After the failure of the agencies of medical and criminal investigation to tackle complaints about Chelmsford, a series of articles in the early 1980s in the Sydney Morning Herald exposed the abuses at the hospital and forced the authorities to take action, and a Royal Commission was appointed.
In 1978 Sydney psychiatrist Brian Boettcher had convened a meeting of doctors working at Chelmsford and found there was little support for deep sleep therapy (Harry Bailey did not attend). However the treatment continued to be used into the following year. Legal action on behalf of former patients was and is still being pursued in New South Wales
.
The New South Wales government recently admitted that three people over the last three years had been kept continuously unconscious for 48 hours whilst undergoing ECT.
History
Induction of sleepSleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
for psychiatric purposes was first tried by Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
psychiatrist Neil Macleod at the turn of the 20th century. He used bromide
Bromide
A bromide is a chemical compound containing bromide ion, that is bromine atom with effective charge of −1. The class name can include ionic compounds such as caesium bromide or covalent compounds such as sulfur dibromide.-Natural occurrence:...
sleep in a few psychiatric patients, one of whom died. His method was adopted by some other physicians but soon abandoned, perhaps because it was considered too toxic or reckless. In 1915, Giuseppe Epifanio tried barbiturate-induced sleep therapy in a psychiatric clinic in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, but his reports made little impact.
Deep sleep therapy was popularized in the 1920s by Swiss psychiatrist Jakob Klaesi
Jakob Klaesi
Jakob Klaesi-Blumer was a Swiss psychiatrist most notable for his contributions to the sleep therapy and his phenomenological analysis of expression.-Life:...
, using a combination of two barbiturates marketed as Somnifen by pharmaceutical company
Pharmaceutical company
The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
Roche. Klaesi's method became widely known and was used in some mental hospitals in the 1930s and 1940s. It was adopted and promoted by some leading psychiatrists in the 1950s and 1960s, such as William Sargant
William Sargant
William Walters Sargant was a controversial British psychiatrist who is remembered for the evangelical zeal with which he promoted treatments such as psychosurgery, deep sleep treatment, electroconvulsive therapy and insulin shock therapy.Sargant studied medicine at St John's College, Cambridge,...
in the UK and by Donald Ewen Cameron
Donald Ewen Cameron
Donald Ewen Cameron , commonly referred to as "D. Ewen Cameron" or "Ewen Cameron," was a twentieth-century Scottish-born psychiatrist who was involved in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's research on mind control and served as President of the Canadian, American and World Psychiatric...
, a North American psychiatrist of Scottish origin practicing in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, some of whose research was funded by the CIA as part of their Project MKULTRA
Project MKULTRA
Project MKULTRA, or MK-ULTRA, was the code name for a covert, illegal CIA human experimentation program, run by the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continued at least through the late 1960s, and used U.S...
.
Sargant wrote in his standard textbook An introduction to physical methods of treatment in psychiatry:
"Many patients unable to tolerate a long course of ECT, can do so when anxiety is relieved by narcosis ... What is so valuable is that they generally have no memory about the actual length of the treatment or the numbers of ECT used ... After 3 or 4 treatments they may ask for ECT to be discontinued because of an increasing dread of further treatments. Combining sleep with ECT avoids this ... All sorts of treatment can be given while the patient is kept sleeping, including a variety of drugs and ECT [which] together generally induce considerable memory loss for the period under narcosis. As a rule the patient does not know how long he has been asleep, or what treatment, even including ECT, he has been given. Under sleep ... one can now give many kinds of physical treatment, necessary, but often not easily tolerated. We may be seeing here a new exciting beginning in psychiatry and the possibility of a treatment era such as followed the introduction of anaesthesia in surgery".
Australian Chelmsford scandal
Deep sleep therapy was also notoriously practised (in combination with electroconvulsive therapyElectroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
and other therapies) by Harry Bailey
Harry Bailey
Harry Richard Bailey was a controversial Australian psychiatrist. He bore the primary responsibility for treatment of mental patients via Sledge hammers, and other methods, at a Sydney mental hospital. He has been linked with the deaths of a total of 85 patients...
between 1962 and 1979 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, at the Chelmsford Private Hospital. As practised by Bailey, deep sleep therapy involved long periods of barbiturate
Barbiturate
Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
-induced unconsciousness. DST was prescribed for various conditions ranging from schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
and depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
to obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
, PMS
Premenstrual stress syndrome
Premenstrual syndrome is a collection of physical and emotional symptoms related to a woman's menstrual cycle...
and addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
.
Twenty-six patients died at Chelmsford Private Hospital during the 1960s and 1970s, with only perfunctory investigation by authorities. After the failure of the agencies of medical and criminal investigation to tackle complaints about Chelmsford, a series of articles in the early 1980s in the Sydney Morning Herald exposed the abuses at the hospital and forced the authorities to take action, and a Royal Commission was appointed.
In 1978 Sydney psychiatrist Brian Boettcher had convened a meeting of doctors working at Chelmsford and found there was little support for deep sleep therapy (Harry Bailey did not attend). However the treatment continued to be used into the following year. Legal action on behalf of former patients was and is still being pursued in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
The New South Wales government recently admitted that three people over the last three years had been kept continuously unconscious for 48 hours whilst undergoing ECT.