Shocking Therapy

Chinese Officials Put a Stop to Internet Shock Treatments

The Ministry of Health ordered a clinic in Shandong province to stop using electroshock in an effort to wean youngsters away from the Internet.

In what might be an indication of the clinic’s effectiveness, its practices came to light when former patients went online to complain. They described restrictive living conditions — including being forced to kneel in front of their parents in obedience.

Internet addiction is not classified as a mental illness in China, a country with nearly 300 million Internet users, many of whom are adolescents who willingly indulge in endless hours of online games per day.

Parents of some patients questioned whether electroshock therapy had ever been effective. -- source