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Insulin Coma Therapy
A form of psychiatric treatment in which patients were repeatedly injected with large doses of insulin in order to produce daily comas over several weeks. -
Metrazol Therapy invented
Inducing chemical convulsions in some patients with schizophrenia to see if their condition improved. After some experimentation, he settled on the synthetic drug called cardiazol (known as metrazol in the USA) as the convulsive trigger. -
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) invented
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is used to treat patients with certain types of mental illness, including severe depression, severe mania, and catatonia. It was first developed in the late 1930s, with the first recorded treatments at McLean Hospital taking place in 1941. -
Lobotomies invented
A lobotomy is a type of brain surgery that became popular in the 1930s as a treatment for mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia. It involves severing the connection between the frontal lobe and other parts of the brain. -
ECT was modified to include anesthesia
The widening adoption of modified ECT—which includes the use of a muscle relaxant and general anesthesia—helped bolster acceptance of the treatment. The muscle relaxants eliminated the convulsions associated with seizures and therefore greatly reduced the risk of injuries. -
Pharmacotherapy therapy invented
Pharmacotherapy, also known as pharmacological therapy or drug therapy, is defined as medical treatment that utilizes one or more pharmaceutical drugs to improve on-going symptoms, treat the underlying condition, or act as a prevention for other diseases. -
Pharmacotherapy treatments and lack of government funding led to deinstitutionalization
After so many years, institutions shut down because they lacked funding and other treatments were made available. -
Pharmacogenomics is coined
Pharmacogenomics (sometimes called pharmacogenetics) is a field of research that studies how a person's genes affect how he or she responds to medications. -
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device is developed
Procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of major depression. It's called a "noninvasive" procedure because it's done without using surgery or cutting the skin. -
Psychedelics as a treatment to mental illness begins being researched
Some hypotheses suggest that psychedelics enhance neural plasticity and that they can disrupt normal patterns of brain activity. -
National Suicide Prevention Hotline is introduced
The national suicide prevention hotline was founded as a way for people who don't necessarily have anyone they feel they can talk to. -
Better Help Was founded
An online resource to make therapy more accessible for people who wouldn't be able to afford or have time for traditional therapy.