La psychiatrie est une discipline médicale récente, ayant connu un essor important ces dernières décennies, en intégrant la promotion de la santé et l’insertion sociétale des patients atteints de maladies psychiques. L’histoire de la psychiatrie est marquée par l’influence de différentes théories et méthodes de traitement, parfois controversées. Les progrès scientifiques ont permis le développement de thérapies curatives et la désinstitutionalisation. Cependant, certains traitements restent sources de débats et d’amalgames au sein de la communauté scientifique et de la population. Nous avons effectué une synthèse de la littérature afin de passer en revue les traitements historiques utilisés en psychiatrie, insolite ou incongrus pour certains, ainsi que les thérapies psychiatriques actuellement controversées en Europe, en mettant l’accent sur leur indication, leur pertinence et leur sécurité. Les résultats de cette revue ont montré l’utilisation, par le passé, de thérapies qui peuvent choquer de nos jours, comme la compression des ovaires chez les patientes atteintes d’hystérie ou encore la trépanation pour la cure de certains troubles du comportement. Quelques traitements anciens existent encore de nos jours, sous une forme évoluée. Cette revue nous a permis également d’identifier des thérapies utilisées en psychiatrie qui restent stigmatisées, peu comprises et sources d’amalgame. Parmi ces méthodes thérapeutiques, nous pouvons citer la sismothérapie, la stimulation cérébrale profonde, ou le traitement de substitution des addictions. L’évolution de la psychiatrie a été marquée par l’utilisation de traitements insolites, qui ont permis de façonner les approches thérapeutiques actuelles. La psychiatrie contemporaine fait face à des traitements controversés, nécessitant des preuves scientifiques solides pour étayer leur utilisation. En encourageant un dialogue ouvert et en tenant compte des besoins des patients, la psychiatrie peut continuer à progresser vers des traitements plus efficaces, éthiques et respectueux des droits des individus.

Psychiatry, as it is known today, is a relatively recent medical discipline that has experienced significant growth in the last decades, incorporating health promotion and social integration to the prospect of recovery among patients with mental illness. The history of psychiatry has been marked by the influence of various, sometimes controversial, theories and treatment methods. Scientific advances and evidence-based medicine have led to the development of curative therapies and deinstitutionalization. However, several treatments remain subject to debate and misconceptions within the scientific community and among the population. The aim of this literature review was to highlight certain historical, often incongruous or sometimes unusual treatments used in psychiatry, not only as a result of ignorance but also through a lack of understanding. We conducted a narrative review to examine the historical and incongruous treatments used in psychiatry, as well as the currently controversial psychiatric therapies in Europe, focusing on their indication, relevance, and safety. We found few relevant results for our topic using our chosen keywords in the different search engines. We thus used key articles, from which we then identified other eligible papers to expand our literature review. We selected the most relevant articles based on their originality and quality. The results of this review yielded past therapies that were used and that may seem shocking today; a case in point, at the end of the 19th century, French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot proposed ovarian compression as a therapeutic method to stop hysterical attacks, or trepanation, another therapeutic method used to treat madness, “to allow fluid to escape,” in reference to humoral theory. We also addressed therapies currently used in European psychiatry, which are the subject of debate as a result of their sometimes-controversial approaches. We delved into the indications, relevance, and safety of these methods, as a lack of information about these therapies could lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations within society. Finally, while some past treatments may seem shocking, we must not forget that many treatments used today have their origins in these older therapies. Most treatments used in psychiatry over the past centuries have been abandoned besauce of their lack of efficacy, safety, or as a result of their lethality. Indeed, from the Antiquity until the 19th century, some psychiatric treatments presented very weak scientific foundations and could now be considered outlandish. Contemporary psychiatry faces controversial treatments requiring robust scientific evidence to guide their use. By encouraging open dialogue and considering the patients’ needs, psychiatry could evolve towards more effective, ethical treatments that respect people's rights. Indeed, the last decades have been marked by a rapid evolution in this discipline, both in terms of psychopathological and therapeutic knowledge. Today, health promotion and social integration are integral parts of caring for patients with psychiatric illnesses, and respect for the individuals and their psychological distress must be guaranteed.