Psychiatrist Sargant's Controversial Lobotomy Treatments Examined

New book explores the career of a prominent psychiatrist who continued using ineffective and barbaric methods long after they were recognized as harmful.

Mar. 17, 2026 at 9:48am

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

A new book by Jon Stock examines the career of prominent psychiatrist William Sargant, who continued to recommend and perform lobotomies and other controversial psychotherapeutic treatments long after they were recognized as ineffective and harmful. The book, reviewed in the Los Angeles Review of Books, details Sargant's use of these methods, including his recommendation that a woman trapped in an abusive marriage undergo a lobotomy to become "indifferent" to her husband's mistreatment.

Why it matters

Sargant's continued use of these extreme and outdated treatments, even as the medical community had largely abandoned them, raises questions about the ethics and oversight of the psychiatric profession, particularly when it comes to vulnerable patients. The book sheds light on a troubling chapter in the history of psychiatry and the potential for abuse of power by medical authorities.

The details

According to the review, Sargant was a prominent psychiatrist who persisted in using lobotomies, insulin coma therapy, and other controversial treatments well after they had been recognized as ineffective and harmful. The book details one instance where Sargant recommended a lobotomy for a woman trapped in an abusive marriage, believing it would make her "indifferent" to her husband's mistreatment.

  • The book by Jon Stock examining Sargant's career was published in 2026.

The players

William Sargant

A prominent psychiatrist whose career was marked by the continued use of controversial and harmful treatments like lobotomies and insulin coma therapy, even after they had fallen out of favor in the medical community.

Jon Stock

The author of a recent book that examines Sargant's deplorable career and his brand of "bio-therapeutics".

Andrew Scull

The author of the review of Jon Stock's book in the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Long after lobotomy and insulin comas had been recognized as ineffective and barbaric, Sargant (like Slater) was still recommending and making use of them. He was not even particularly discreet.”

— Andrew Scull, Reviewer (Los Angeles Review of Books)

“In his best-selling 1967 autobiography The Unquiet Mind, he tells of a woman who came to him in despair, her life made unbearable by being married to what he concluded was a 'sociopathic' husband. Sargant's prescription for her? Since she was trapped in a miserable situation and her husband's sociopathy was incurable, she should have a lobotomy. That would make her 'indifferent' to her husband's mistreatment.”

— Andrew Scull, Reviewer (Los Angeles Review of Books)

The takeaway

This book sheds light on a troubling chapter in the history of psychiatry, where a prominent doctor continued to use extreme and outdated treatments on vulnerable patients, even as the medical community had largely abandoned such methods. It raises important questions about ethics, oversight, and the potential for abuse of power within the psychiatric profession.