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

Sometimes shock therapy, however inexpertly administered, can be part of the cure. —Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025

Simply put, is unreasonable to expect Japanese-style shock therapy from Abe. —Tobias Harris, Foreign Affairs, 19 Nov. 2013

Arnett also admitted that his co-host woke up an hour later to use the bathroom and had to drive himself back to the hospital for a second time for another round of shock therapy to get his heart back to a regular rhythm. —Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024

Molotov tries shock therapy At execution, a good rock-metal group can puncture the escapist flow of festival life. —Vicky Camarillo, Austin American-Statesman, 3 Mar. 2024

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