“Real discipline” spankings are by no means uncommon in the scene, but the question remains:  does anyone ever really benefit from a spanking?  This is a question we will take up more fully in another article, but at least two Russian scientists think so.  An article in Isvestia reported that Dr Sergei Speransky and Dr Marina Chuhrova of the Novosibirsk Institute of Medicine have actually used caning to treat depression and (it is implied) alcohol and drug addiction.

 

At first we might greet this report with a good deal of skepticism – it sounds like they could be a couple of quacks with nutty ideas, or could even be people who just like to administer a good caning.  But it would be unwise to reach these cynical conclusions too hastily.  For one thing, Russia has always been a terrible place to live, and consequently depression and alcoholism have always been widespread there (one has only to read Dostoevsky to know how long this has been true).  For another thing, the release of endorphins during all kinds of spanking has been widely reported, and could conceivably give a factual basis for this unusual therapy.  Then there is the undeniable fact that some people lack self-discipline, and do best in a highly structured environment where there are obvious and immediate adverse consequences for failure to perform (military discipline, getting fired, etc.).  Put these things together, and it appears spanking really does work, at least for a few people. 

 

The details of the caning techniques used by the good doctors are sketchy.  Apparently the standard course of treatment calls for 30 sessions of 60 strokes each, applied on the bare bottom.  Obviously, the cane must be thinner or the strokes lighter than the traditional school caning, which was “6 of the best” over clothes and yet enough to terrorize generations of British schoolboys (and a few schoolgirls).  Still, we’d be willing to bet these canings hurt a good bit.  Dr. Chuhrova stated that initially "they didn't like it, [but] when they started to feel the benefits they kept asking for more."

 

We’re almost convinced enough to hang out our shingle right now – but then, we’ve always believed in helping others by spanking them!