ECT

electroshock, shocktherapy

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0.8 Amps of Happiness

electroshock

This is the title of an impressive documentary of treatment with Electroshock or ECT. Three patients are portrayed as they’re being treated with Electro Shock Therapy (ECT) for their depressions. This documentary was made by Saskia Gubbels and her crew.

‘There will come a moment when I decide to lie down in the snow to die. Because living like this isn’t much of a life. It really isn’t. It’s death.’

These are the opening words of Lidwine in the documentary ‘0.8 Amps of Happiness.’ Severely depressed and suicidal, she has tried everything to break free from the downward spiral she finds herself trapped in. Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT), popularly known as electroshock therapy, is her last resort. This therapy is often effective but has long encountered deep-rooted prejudice and fear. Director Saskia Gubbels intimately portrays three people who undergo electroshock therapy. She captures how depression has completely taken over their lives and those of their families and friends. Will they manage to escape the darkness of depression or psychosis? Will this treatment give them back just a tiny shred of their former state of happiness they so long for?

More on the website 0.8 Amps of Happiness

They also made an English version. I hope they will release it after the first broadcast on Dutch television by NCRV Dokument (NPO2) on February 2nd 2015 at 20:25

 

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History of ECT

At the Museo di Storia della Medicina della Sapienza at the University of Rome they are organizing an exhibition around the Bini–Cerletti apparatus for the administration of electro-shock. The authors are very careful in expressing their appreciation for this therapy. They disregarding the period of development of treatment of severe mental illness in that period. Consisting of much more dangerous treatment alternatives. Moreover, littel is mentioned about the improvement of technique, apparatus and indications for treatment with ECT. In Italy the use of ECT is very rare. Italian colleagues regret this, they would also would like to have the possibility to use this very effective and safe treatment in severe cases.

 

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Electroconvulsive Therapy Patient Information Video

Excellent information in this video about Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) from Medicana life. Haven’t written about ECT for a while, hope you find all the information on this site useful. The information about ECT is carefully selected by me, a psychiatrist with special interest in ECT and depression. Related posts on ECT can be found down this blog post.

Another short introduction especially on indications for ECT by Dr Daniel Carlat can be found online here

 

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Depression and ECT Information on Video

Dr. Richard Jaffe, Depression on “The 10! Show” from EinsteinHealth on Vimeo.

Clear and short explanation on depression and it’s treatment, including ECT by Richard Jaffe MD.

Richard Jaffe discussed the “winter blues” and some of the treatment options that are available to those suffering with depression. He also highlighted some of the new refinements that have been made in Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

 

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ECT An Update

ECT, current practice

View more presentations from vdbroekw

Last Friday had the pleasure of doing a presentation on the current practice of ECT for lay public. It was during the Publieksdag for the 140th birthday of the Dutch Association of Psychiatry during the annual conference in Amsterdam.

Also found some excellent information on ECT on the Internet:

Well written information about this treatment.

 

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How is ECT depicted in the British Press?

From all the newspapers in the last seven years in British national newspapers about 348 mentioned ECT or electroconvulsive therapy or electroshock and it’s other synonyms. Overall 111 articles (31,9%) portrayed ECT negatively, 198 articles were neutral and 39 were positive. A substantial comment on ECT was published in 44 (12,6%) articles. The negative comments (14/16) were published in liberal newspapers whereas most positive comments about ECT (10/12) were published in conservative newspapers.

Overall most depictions of ECT were neutral, with smaller numbers of negative (111) and positive (39) representations. Not bad compared to the depiction of ECT in Hollywood movies.

ResearchBlogging.org
Euba R, & Crugel M (2009). The depiction of electroconvulsive therapy in the British press. The journal of ECT, 25 (4), 265-9 PMID: 19444139

 

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Blogging About ECT, Hands on Experience

electroshock

The best information in health care is from patients who have been there. Those who underwent treatment, suffer from a certain illness. It’s the kind of hands on experience physicians can’t deliver. On this blog I have collected some examples of these “hands on experiences”. Some recent posts were written about ECT by them with hands on experience.

Aqua on Vicarious Therapy wrote a post on ECT and media portrayals of depression treatment options. She is irritated by the negative portrayal of ECT in the media.

It irritates me, (and does not help me explain potential treatments to concerned family members), when the media, either by negative portrayal or by leaving positive and informative information about ECT out of stories about depression treatments, subtly dismisses or devalues an effective and proven helpful treatment for resistant/refractory depression.

Besides here opinion on ECT she also writes about treatment resistant depression. Rightfully she points to the fact that despite all the treatment options sometimes depression is not a treatable disease. Read her post on this topic here….

On jumpstarting a life with a little spark on the head the 7th lesson about ECT is presented. Yes this blog has some excellent lessons for ECT patients. This 7th lesson is about being informed on ECT. Two books about ECT are discussed:

Both of these books are not long (about 100 pages) but more detailed than much of the information I gathered on the web. These books are definitely more clinical in nature, but they are easy to understand and I think these details help you be more calm when you go through treatment.

For a more prosaic discussion on ECT and it’s efficacy please read: An E.C.T. morning by pistolpete on Necessary Therapy

Almost a year later and I’m still wondering if E.C.T. was right for my particular case. Given the information we had at the time, I have to believe it was worth a shot.

Mental health Update discusses a recent article: Rayner, Lauren … [et al] – The patient perspective of the consent process and side effects of electroconvulsive therapy Journal of Mental Health October 2009, 18(5), 379-388. It’s a survey of 389 people who had had ECT focusing on the consent process and side effects of the treatment. Interesting read.

 
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