Edward (Ted) Julius Rosen

In Port Alberni [British Columbia], there was a town on the island there, the Alberni Military Hospital, there was a hospital and there was a military ward that I started there. And also, a ward in the Vancouver General Hospital and a ward in the Victoria General Hospital, I think that’s what they were called. So the wards were set up in the various hospitals there for soldiers returning from Japan and Hawaii, Honolulu, you know, places there.

I was treating soldiers who really were in bad shape after having terrible experiences. Some of them were really pretty much down and at that time too, for depression [post-traumatic stress disorder], there wasn’t much that you could do, and there wasn’t even much medication. But I had heard of somebody in the [United] States, I don’t know whether it was Germany or Switzerland or someone who was treating depression with electric shock. And so I did start that as well, I gave electric shock treatment to soldiers who were really very depressed. If you were depressed, you would be quite suicidal and have a tendency to suicide. But electric shock really cured and brought them back into a state where they could continue.

I really felt that I was doing some good, something in various places and areas, you know, teaching and helping people. It was really very positive, even though it was strenuous.