What follows are the three most frequently asked questions sent via email: 1. Where can I find a facility that gives ECT? I don't have a master list of ECT providers. I am concerned, however, that you would be seeking out ECT on your own. It is unlikely that you would find a clinic or hospital that would give you ECT without a doctor's recommendation. This is something that should be discussed with your psychiatrist. Your doctor will ... (more...)

Added: Mar 13, 2007 4:57 pm | 83 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Opponents of electric-shock therapy are calling for a ban on its use in the elderly after a new study shows they are at increased risk of permanent brain damage. The Press (New Zealand) Feb 7 2007 By KAMALA HAYMAN The elderly, women and people with lower IQs are the most vulnerable to brain damage, particularly memory loss, according to the first large-scale study on the long-term effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). About 300 patients a year are given ECT ... (more...)

Added: Feb 7, 2007 11:10 am | 13 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

ect.org note: This article is appearing in numerous publications and websites, so to avoid repeating the same information again and again, an ongoing list of publications will be posted below. ----------- Forbes Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia and Cognitive Deficits, Prominent Researcher Admits 12.21.06, 3:38 PM ET NEW YORK, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes ... (more...)

Added: Dec 22, 2006 5:05 pm | 37 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

by Linda Andre Director, CTIP The Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community Settings NIMH-funded research study published in the January 2007 issue of Neuropsychopharmacology Author and primary investigator: Harold Sackeim Funding: NIMH grants #35636, Affective and Cognitive Consequences of ECT, funded since 1981 for a total of approximately ten million dollars so far (grant has been renewed through 2009) #59069, ECT Practices in Community Settings---Evaluating Outcomes, funded since 1999 for a total of approximately 3.5 million dollars so far Summary: ... (more...)

Added: Nov 24, 2006 3:24 pm | 22 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Memory and cognitive effects of ECT: informing and assessing patients Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2006), vol. 12, 228 238 Harold Robertson & Robin Pryor Abstract: Over the past few years electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has come under increased scrutiny in the UK, with the first systematic review of patients’ experiences and new national guidelines. Our aim in this article is to translate recent and sometimes confusing research and policy statements into practical guidance that benefits patients. We examined the evidence ... (more...)

Added: Jul 31, 2006 11:52 am | 6 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2007), vol. 13, 90-100 doi: 10.1192/apt.bp.106.002899 Cognitive rehabilitation: assessment and treatment of persistent memory impairments following ECT Maeve A. Mangaoang & Jim V. Lucey Abstract Few tests address the types of memory problem commonly reported after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Here, we focus on the importance of neuropsychological assessment in ECT-treated patients and describe a number of tasks that may be useful in measuring the everyday memory problems of such patients with ongoing memory ... (more...)

Added: Mar 13, 2007 4:52 pm | 7 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia And Cognitive Deficits, Prominent Researcher Admits Medical News Today Dec 22 2006 In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes permanent amnesia and permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to function. "This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, ... (more...)

Added: Dec 22, 2006 4:01 pm | 4 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Dec 7 2006 By Gemma Collins Berkshire Co UK A FRAIL pensioner who battled with manic depression for 60 years, died after undergoing electric shock therapy at Reading's Prospect Park Hospital. Violet Dixon, 81, who suffered from Bipolar affective disorder was given Electroconvulsive Therapy after becoming so depressed and run down that staff feared she would die. Mrs Dixon who lived with husband Victor in Compton near Newbury had been suffering from anxiety and depression since the 1940s and in ... (more...)

Added: Dec 22, 2006 10:20 am | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Shock Treatment: Efficacy, Memory Loss, and Brain Damage – Psychiatry’s Don’t Look, Don’t Tell Policy by Richard A. Warner This downloadable paper was written by a paralegal in an ECT case that is currently on appeal. He researched the subject for two years, and decided to put that research to use, in this paper. ... (more...)

Added: Sep 26, 2006 11:16 am | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Dr. Bonnie Burstow explores electroshock as a form of violence against women. She is a feminist therapist, an anti-psychiatry and anti-fascist activist. She is also the former co-chiar of the Ontario Coalition Against Electroshock and is the author of Radical Feminist Therapy: Working in the Context of Violence. Two versions: An edited version runs just under 30 minutes and the full speech runs just over 60 minutes. Listen to an edited version (30 min) or full speech ... (more...)

Added: Aug 18, 2006 11:15 am | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Update: The full article has been published in Nature and may be read here in PDF format. An unpublished article, send by an insider to ect.org, reveals what ECT activists have been saying for years: ECT does cause cognitive damage. The "running title" of the article is "Cognitive Effects of ECT." The article is scheduled to be published in Neuropsychopharmacology in January. --- 4,247 Words 5 Tables 5 Figures The Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community ... (more...)

Added: Aug 6, 2006 12:21 pm | 14 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Here are a number of clips from the videotaped deposition of Harold Sackeim (2004). Sackeim was the expert witness for Mecta in a lawsuit in California. You can read most of the deposition here, in PDF format. I'm splitting the videos into two pages to reduce your load. If the page loads slowly, or the videos don't load, try again in thirty minutes...it's likely YouTube is down. Richard Abrams is defensive, says ... (more...)

Added: Aug 3, 2006 12:21 am | 2 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

The Awakening This clip is an interesting explanation of why psychiatrists have apparently been unaware for 70 years that ECT can and does cause profound memory loss and cognitive damage. The reason? Because until a few years ago, the only persons who complained of severe memory loss also said it didn't help them. It took finding some patients who experienced devastating memory loss who would also proclaim it "saved their life" before Harold Sackeim would listen. Hey, ... (more...)

Added: Aug 3, 2006 12:20 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

This was a poster session presented at the annual NIMH Conference by Linda Andre and Juli Lawrence. Note: graphics are clickable for larger views. ---------------------- Beyond “anecdotal” evidence: The contribution of ECT survivors to research on the permanent effects of ECT on memory, memory ability and cognition Authors: Linda Andre Juli Lawrence 2002 Statement of the Problem: Evidence from ECT survivors has been dismissed as "anecdotal." Such evidence exists in many forums: in the popular press, in literature, in public testimony before legislatures, on ... (more...)

Added: Jul 29, 2006 1:19 pm | 3 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

While long-term memory appears to be preserved in depressed patients undergoing maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), these patients may suffer short-term memory impairment and frontal function alteration, claim investigators. "Memory impairment is the main neuropsychological problem associated with acute ECT, but the specific subtypes of memory dysfunction associated with maintenance-ECT remain unknown," observe Miquel Bernardo (Hospital ClÌnic, Barcelona, Spain) and colleagues. To investigate, they assessed memory, attention, and frontal function in 11 patients with depression in remission, who had received an average of 36.1 previous ECT ... (more...)

Added: Jul 29, 2006 12:26 am | 2 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print