Question: What are your thoughts on Electroconvulsive therapy and do you think it really works?

Lowri Evans answered on 11 Mar 2016:

Hello Amber,

I think that most people hold a negative view towards electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) because of the way it’s been displayed in films etc. It was introduced in 1938 as a treatment for psychosis, and the scientist that invented it, Cerletti, got the idea from observing that cows who had been shocked before slaughter were “sedated” (put to sleep). The idea behind ECT is that electrodes are put either side of a persons head, and an electric current is passed between them, causing changes to their brain chemistry and activity.

Before the mid 1950s, ECT was actually quite dangerous! The patients would have been awake during, which caused them to have seizures (fits) and broken bones. Thankfully, people are now given something to relax their muscles and put to sleep, which limits the amount of muscular activity during the fit and stops the movement as much as possible. Most people do still have seizures, but they don’t experience the pain. The persons vital signs (things like heart rate and blood pressure) are measured during ECT now to make sure that people are safe.

ECT is much safer now, but it’s not 100% hazard free. People come out of the treatment feeling really confused, and some people experience some memory loss. It should only be used when other treatments have failed, but it has shown that it can be good at getting rid of the symptoms of things like depression and bipolar disorder. I think that as a last resort it can be quite effective, but there are much better things to try first!