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Bert Newton given LSD during 1960s psychiatric treatment

Bert Newton was injected with LSD as treatment for a mental breakdown in the 1960s, according to a new book.

2014-10-23_1111Bert Newton was injected with LSD as part of a radical treatment for a mental breakdown in the 1960s, according to a new unauthorised book.

Bert by writer / performer Graeme Blundell, details Newton being admitted to a Melbourne psychiatric ward in 1964, resulting in a ‘bad trip’ for the Nine star.

“His recovery was set back when a doctor in whose hands he had entrusted his return to health injected him with … LSD,” Blundell reveals.

“Bert had no idea that a drug of that nature was going to be given to him. ‘It was like being thrown into the middle of the Indian Ocean with a lifejacket,’ he said later.

“‘You know that for a moment you could float, but you kept wondering for how long you’d be safe.’

“’My vision was distorting … things took on a grotesque form, the room was misshapen — I don’t know how long it lasted.’”

Newton wrote about the incident in his own biography, noting he eventually recovered and returned to TV.

The book published by Hachette Australia also details how Sir Frank Packer hated homosexuals, and refused to refer to Graham Kennedy by name.

But the pair eventually formed a sort of “working relationship” because he made millions for the network.

Bert is on sale from Tuesday.

Source: news.com.au

Corrected.

3 Responses

  1. Well we always knew Sir Frank had an issue with Kennedy, so no news there.

    And same with Bert’s LSD treatment, as you say it was covered in Bert’s autobiography written many years ago (i rescued a copy of it from the cleanout at my grandparents’ house)

    If these are the most stunning revelations then I might give the book a miss

  2. It is so sad to hear what Bert endured but psychiatry often is associated with scrutiny. Just read the book “Mad in America” by John Whitaker. He describes how ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) was performed on every patient in the 1950’s. Lobotomies were the norm in the 1960’s. Patients suffering from depression were treated with leeches and patients suffering from a psychotic episode had their condition heightened with stimulants such as methylphenidate.

    I wish anyone who is suffering from mental health issues the best and hope they come out of the experience stronger and wiser.

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