Addressing Misconceptions About Electroconvulsive Therapy

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      Summary: Despite popular belief, many patients who receive ECT view the therapy in a positive light, researchers report.

      Source: Wiley.

      Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has long had a stigma of being a painful and barbaric method of treatment, but a new study found that patients undergoing ECT for a variety of psychiatric disorders view the therapy in a positive light.

      In the study of 30 patients, 80% found ECT a useful procedure that they would readily have again, with 70% saying it was more efficacious than drug therapy. The study’s investigators note that improvements in ECT administration and standards should help to validate ECT as a less frightening experience for patients and their caregivers.

      “ECT is a very effective but underused treatment partly due to the perception of the nature of this treatment. This study illustrates that the overall experience and attitude of patients and carers on ECT treatment were positive,” said Dr. Latha Guruvaiah, lead author of the Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry study. “Many treatment options are available now for Psychiatric disorders but still ECT is considered as an effective treatment and has been found to be potential lifesaver in many cases.”

      Image shows a brain.
      The study’s investigators note that improvements in ECT administration and standards should help to validate ECT as a less frightening experience for patients and their caregivers. NeuroscienceNews.com image is for illustrative purposes only.
      About this neuroscience research article

      Source: Penny Smith – Wiley
      Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
      Original Research: Full open access research for “Patients’ experiences of and attitudes towards ECT” by Latha Guruvaiah MBBS MRCPsych, Karthikeyan Veerasamy MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), Muhammad Naveed MBBS MRCPsych, Swami Kudlur MRCPsych, Farah Chaudary MBChB MRCPsych, and Ann Paraiso MBChB in Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry. Published online May 31 2017 doi:10.1002/pnp.466

      Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

      [cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]Wiley “Addressing Misconceptions About Electroconvulsive Therapy.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 5 June 2017.
      <https://neurosciencenews.com/ect-misconceptions-psychology-6828/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]Wiley (2017, June 2). Addressing Misconceptions About Electroconvulsive Therapy. NeuroscienceNew. Retrieved June 5, 2017 from https://neurosciencenews.com/ect-misconceptions-psychology-6828/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]Wiley “Addressing Misconceptions About Electroconvulsive Therapy.” https://neurosciencenews.com/ect-misconceptions-psychology-6828/ (accessed June 5, 2017).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]

      Abstract

      Patients’ experiences of and attitudes towards ECT

      Since its introduction electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has received varied responses from the public and the media. Even though it is an effective treatment, its use has been restricted to very few serious psychiatric disorders. In this paper, Dr Guruvaiah and colleagues capture patients’ and their carers’ positive experience and attitude towards ECT following their treatment, which can act as reassurance for patients undergoing this efficacious therapy.

      “Patients’ experiences of and attitudes towards ECT” by Latha Guruvaiah MBBS MRCPsych, Karthikeyan Veerasamy MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), Muhammad Naveed MBBS MRCPsych, Swami Kudlur MRCPsych, Farah Chaudary MBChB MRCPsych, and Ann Paraiso MBChB in Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry. Published online May 31 2017 doi:10.1002/pnp.466

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      2 Comments

      1. K – until there is a better way, people who do have mental health issues are left with the choice of therapy, taking meds, meds and therapy, or suffering. Meds are a miracle for me. I have bi-polar disorder, and they work. I do not care that the drugists don’t know how they work, all that matters is that they do. I am not in the category of people who may “choose” to take meds or not. I’m on them for life. If I had a choice, I would quit. In fact, when I had a choice, I did quit.

        When I had a problem with chronic pain I weaned myself off pain meds because I decided I didn’t want to be dependent on pain killers for the rest of my life. I preferred to get used to the pain and not take meds. At that point, my pain was at a low enough level that I could learn to tolerate it. So I did. In the end, the chronic pain probably had a whole lot more to do with stress than the physical injury.

        Perhaps that is the situation you are alluding to here, really? Patients who aren’t “really” mentally ill, so they can get by without meds? Maybe someone who has depression following losing their spouse vs. someone who has recurring major depression. Being depressed after losing your spouse makes sense, right? But what if you’re depressed all the time, crying non-stop, and CAN’T stop, for no reason? Yep. Been there. Depressive breakdown, mixed with hypo-manic symptoms. For SIX MONTHS.

        Until you’ve worn the shoes of mental illness, do not be so quick to discard the tools available to treat it.

      2. I don’t think this treatment option should exist, despite the claims. I believe what is happening to the brain is brain damage. If we think about concussions, some people may get euphoric after them. I believe that this is the reality of what is happening. Another symptom of this treatment is memory loss, which signifies brain damage. I think the neuronal growth exist solely because if damaging any part of the body, the automatic response is for that part of the body to heal itself and that is the factor of the growth. I believe that is what is actually happening. I believe without the full understanding of the science behind it and EXACTLY what it is doing to the brain then we position ourselves to be no better than the past. I have never seen anything less scientific than what we are doing still today in psychiatry. The maker of Prozac doesn’t even recognize EXACTLY what it is doing to our brains. Infact, some people commit suicide after they start these drugs. If the patient really wants to be on these drugs I think that is one thing, but to force people on these drugs is another unless one is extremely psychotic. Again, we can not measure serotonin or dopamine in a human…so we have no idea. It just doesn’t seem very scientific at all. I think we need to create new ways of treating people with mental health issues and also focus on societal problems. Life is hard, and so I think we need to create better support systems and more community. Anyways, I really think we should learn from our past. Have a good day.

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