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 | 82 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

“When science has a commercial basis, those who make a living out of one point of view seem much less likely to tolerate dissent than is normal in the rest of science.” (David Healy, from his 2004 book Let Them Eat Prozac) Once, just once, it would be nice to see doctors who use ECT make an argument for their product based on facts and science, without lies and ... (more...)

Added: Apr 23, 2008 4:57 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Professor: 67 percent of elderly are depressed; ECT could be a "useful treatment" December 13, 2007 ‘ECT — most useful to treat depression’ Daily Times, Lahore Pakistan Staff Report LAHORE: Despite all myths and misconceptions, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) also known, as electric shock treatment, is most effective treatment to treat depression, said Dr Ashar Khan, Bond University, Australia. He was delivering a lecture on ECT – An Evidence-based Approach on Monday at the University of Health Sciences (UHS). UHS vice chancellor ... (more...)

Added: Dec 14, 2007 11:57 am | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

NZPA | Tuesday, 27 November 2007 A committee of MPs says electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) should only be used as a treatment of last resort. Under ECT, specialised medical equipment is used to induce an epileptic seizure by passing a small electrical current across the brain. Parliament's health select committee has been considering a petition by doctor Helen Smith who wants ECT to be voluntary, and its use with children, pregnant women and ... (more...)

Added: Dec 14, 2007 11:11 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

2000 document from UBC Department of Psychiatry and the BC Ministry of Health Download PDF File (3.7 mb)

Added: Dec 10, 2007 11:57 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

New Zealand Herald November 06, 2007 By Chris Barton It happens more often than you'd think. A person arrives at a mental health unit in a psychotic state and is immediately put into a seclusion room. Mental health consumer adviser Vicki Burnett tells the story of patient A. "When psychotic, she thought she was on fire and her hands were on fire. Put into a seclusion room, all the walls appeared to her to be on fire. I can't ... (more...)

Added: Nov 12, 2007 4:37 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Sometimes I really LOVE LIFE!!! This is one of those days. Letter To Editor from Harold Sackeim p.s. Hi everybody, I'm crazy busy and will be back in the flow soon.

Added: Jun 13, 2007 8:37 pm | 1 Comment |  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

Linda Andre's new book scheduled for 2008 publication If you visit ect.org next year, expect that I'll be promoting Linda Andre's new book! And you'd better plan on buying. Her book was purchased this week by a major publisher! This book will shed light on an industry that has fed on a plague of self deception, of defensiveness, and of outright lies. Might as well put the shock industry on official notice: the chipping away at your ivory ... (more...)

Added: Mar 11, 2007 11:04 pm | 3 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

A video overview of electroconvulsive therapy by Dr. John Friedberg, author of "Shock Treatment is Not Good for Your Brain. Says the neurologist: "ECT isn't new and it isn't effective. It causes brain damage manifested mostly by amnesia. This video is a brief overview from my perspective as a neurologist." Click here to view video at You Tube. [gv data="fBK5Y5rmAy0"width="425" height="350"][/gv]

Added: Jan 30, 2007 4:59 pm | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

By ANDREW BRIDGES The Associated Press Friday, January 26, 2007 WASHINGTON -- A novel machine designed to treat depression by zapping the brain with magnetic pulses shows no clear evidence of working, federal health advisers concluded Friday. The device is called the Neurostar TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, system. It uses magnetic energy to induce electrical currents in the region of the brain associated with mood. Neuronetics Inc. believes those currents stimulate neurons in the region and relieve the ... (more...)

Added: Jan 26, 2007 7:31 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print