Barbital therapy has aroused more interest than any other method of narcotic treatment. The reason is that barbital narcosis offers a new means of establishing contact with hitherto suspicious, seclusive and inaccessible patients. It is the quickest and most effective method of inducing sleep and rest in various maniacal states. Furthermore it is a potent agent in terminating the course of many acute psychoses. Barbital therapy, being empirical, and to some extent experimental, is difficult to define. It denotes more than the mere induction of continuous deep sleep. In fact, it denotes an organized scheme whereby physical and psychic rest, increased suggestibility and alteration of affect are used together to restore normality.