Its unsavory reputation may be changing
The scene in which Actor Jack Nicholson receives an electric shock treatment in the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest reinforced the notion that shock therapy is a cruel and barbaric anachronism. Partially as a result of the movie, the popular image of electric shock, which had been steadily fading in the U.S., grew even dimmer. Now shock treatment is regaining popularity, defended by many psychiatrists as a safe, humane and often dramatically effective method for treating some forms of mental illness, particularly depression.
Electroconvulsive therapy...