[Light therapy]

Since the discovery of a link between seasonal depression and diminishing sunlight, many studies have been initiated. Animal studies have confirmed this link. In 1989, a committee from the psychiatric department of Sherbrooke Hospital was formed to plan, organize and implement artificial light therapy in the general and legal psychiatric unit. Two nurse members of this committee give a description of the treatment, and comment on guidelines and results. They are convinced that a functional structure for light therapy may revolutionize psychiatry.