A Very Different Approach to Psychotherapy Emerging in Siberia

A new form of psychotherapy has been declared, by some professionals in Siberia, as a breakthrough. Patients are having addictions literally beaten out of them with up to 60 lashes of a bamboo cane before a more conventional therapy session.

Patients are given the extreme treatment for a range of issues including sex addiction, gambling and for being a workaholic. The theory behind the Siberian lead treatment is ‘corporal punishment counteracts a lack of enthusiasm for life which is often behind addictions’; they state.

It is claimed that this ‘punishment’ releases endorphins, also known as happiness hormones, which addicts lack in their lives.

The doctors behind the research have treated over 1000 patients so far. The pair claim that in a sample of 30 patients the majority of them are responding well and may be overcoming their addictions. They claimed to have success with some showbiz clients also following their failure with more conventional treatments.

While the treatment may seem violent, advocates of it insist it is not about punishment or humiliation.