Ether; an estimation of its use in the treatment of the psychoneuroses

Shorvon and Sargant (1947) have given a full account of the history and development of the use of ether in relation to excitatory abreaction. They have shown how valuable its use can be to rid patients of emotional tension which has occurred as a result of some particular battle experience, such as being blown up, buried alive, torpedoed, etc. They propound various theories as to the mechanism of excitatory abreaction, and they give a full description of the technique they employed, illustrated by examples from the numerous cases with which they dealt.