Dear Mrs. Kathleen
Sebelius,
I am a student at Stevenson University and while working
on a paper it has come to my attention that there are still institutions using
archaic methods such as ECT, isolation therapy, and waterboarding as
psychotherapy. Something needs to be done about this situation. General
education about this subject didn’t work, now we need to move to fully
outlawing these practices.
As I’m sure you already know, Electroconvulsive therapy
is an older therapy that entails running an electric current through the body,
particularly the brain, in hopes of stimulating the brain in a different way
than that of the illness that is affecting the patient. Even though there have
been studies that the treatments have no adverse effects on the patient,
studies have also shown decreased cognitive performance that was not directly
related to the illness, but to the treatment that the patient was undergoing. One
institution that still uses ECT is Johns Hopkins Hospital. Their justification
for using ECT is that they sedate the patient first then induce the seizure,
which is no more humane than if the patient were conscious.
Isolation therapy, otherwise known as solitary
confinement, can be more harmful than helpful to the patient depending on the
illness. If a patient that is schizophrenic believes that he is being troubled
by demons, and is locked in a room and forced to face whatever is troubling
him, he could go into a panic attack or stress himself to unhealthy levels
because he cannot escape his fears. One of the institutions that has been
receiving heavy criticism for the use of solitary confinement is Ryker’s Island
in New York. A recent study has shown that even previously mentally fit inmates
ended up suffering from mental illness after being placed in solitary
confinement. This in itself shows that if it’s unhealthy for mentally fit
people then it is even worse for the mentally unhealthy.
Waterboarding as psychotherapy is completely wrong. It is
the same thing that the military does at Guantanamo Bay when they torture
prisoners. The theory behind using waterboarding as psychotherapy is that the
near death experience of drowning causes enough stress on the brain that it
causes a hard reset within the patients mind. Research has shown that
waterboarding can cause the mental illness to progress further down the path of
deterioration.
Some people that have opposing opinions believe that the
treatments that are more prevalent now such as floatation therapy and talk
therapy do not work as well as the more archaic therapies. There are groups
online that rally for the reinstatement of these treatments, saying that the
system is not being effective enough and we’re not really curing anybody, just
suppressing the illness.
We have tried to change this situation before with publicity
about the negative side effects, but obviously this hasn’t been enough, and the
effort has fizzled over the years. We need to finish what we started and get
rid of these practices. I want to be proud of the medical care that our country
offers to the mentally ill, and I know I’m not the only one that feels this
way. I believe you are the best person to contact about this issue and that you
would have the most power pertaining to this subject. I feel that you should
really care about this issue considering your position as the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, therefore who would be better to contact?
I
hope that you can see this perspective and hopefully move to make a change to
it. I have included sources for additional reading if you would like. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Courtney Aceto
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