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 know of facilities that perform ECT and will give you a recommendation if s/he feels ECT would be beneficial. If you do not have a relationship with a psychiatrist and wish to have ECT, you will have to find a psychiatrist who will fully evaluate ... (more...)

Added: Mar 13, 2007 4:57 pm | 91 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 in New Zealand. Two-thirds are women and about 60 per cent are over the age of 50. In a report released last year, the Health Ministry said ECT was "a valuable and sometimes life-saving" treatment for depression, mania and catatonia, although its effects were typically short-term. In ... (more...)

Added: Feb 7, 2007 11:10 am | 14 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 permanent amnesia and permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to function. "[T]his study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings," ... (more...)

Added: Dec 22, 2006 5:05 pm | 41 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: After 25 years and millions of dollars of federal funding to research the adverse cognitive effects of ECT---25 years in which not one single longterm followup study was ever published---self-proclaimed "world expert" on ECT Harold Sackeim has now reversed his position, admitting that ECT routinely ... (more...)

Added: Nov 24, 2006 3:24 pm | 24 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 on the permanent memory and cognitive effects of ECT, with a focus on delineating their nature, understanding how ECT may cause them, informing prospective patients about them, and assessing their impact on former patients. We describe a simple and effective method for assessing retrograde amnesia. ... (more...)

Added: Jul 31, 2006 11:52 am | 9 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 difficulties. At the time of writing, no attempts have been made to rehabilitate patients who experience persistent adverse cognitive effects, but clinicians should be aware of the potential beneficial role of cognitive rehabilitation in the treatment and management of these effects. In a recent issue of ... (more...)

Added: Mar 13, 2007 4:52 pm | 10 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 wall continues. This time, Ms. Linda Andre will be wielding a jackhammer. I confess I've had a peek, and the writing is stunning. That's not a surprise to me and won't be to anyone who knows Linda's skills. It may be a surprise to the "gang" ... (more...)

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

Monsters and Critics Americas Features CIA brainwashing victims seek Canada court action By James Stairs Jan 19, 2007 Montreal - In a case that sounds like science fiction, a Montreal court is deciding whether a class action lawsuit can be brought against the Canadian government on behalf of more than 250 psychiatric patients who were unwittingly subjected to radical experiments in the 1950s. The so-called MK-ULTRA tests were part of a secret mind-control programme funded by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Canadian government in the 1950s. The Cold-War-era experiments, carried out by a Scottish doctor in Montreal, included forced isolation, induced-comas, electro-shock therapy and the use of hallucinogenic drugs, including LSD and paralysis-inducing narcotics. Lawyers for Janine Huard, a 78-year-old great-grandmother, told a Montreal court ... (more...)

Added: Jan 23, 2007 3:32 pm | 4 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Peter Stevens a, , and David J. Harper b, aOxleas NHS Trust, Dartford, Kent, UK bUniversity of East London, UK Available online 8 January 2007. Abstract Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a socially contested psychiatric intervention. However, the accounts of professionals involved in its use have rarely been systematically investigated. This study aimed to examine the accounts of clinicians who have used ECT on a routine basis. Eight health professionals (psychiatrists, anaesthetists and psychiatric nurses from a major city in the United Kingdom) with experience of ECT administration were interviewed about the procedure. Discourse analysis was used to interpret the interview transcripts. Interviewees appeared to draw on a repertoire, which constructed ECT recipients as severely ill. This was used to support claims which had the ... (more...)

Added: Jan 11, 2007 5:40 pm | Comment |  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, and that they characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings," the study notes. For the past 25 years, ECT patients were told by Sackeim, the nation's top ECT researcher, that the controversial treatment doesn't cause permanent amnesia and, in fact, improves memory and increases intelligence. ... (more...)

Added: Dec 22, 2006 4:01 pm | 6 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

News flash: New York Times takes a crap on the small amount of credibility it had left. Stick a fork in it...they should merge with CBS News and just call themselves THE BIG PILE. Jane Pauley Sues New York Times Broadcaster claims fraud over appearance in drug industry advertorial Oct. 25, 2006 The Smoking Gun OCTOBER 25--Claiming that The New York Times duped her into granting an interview for what turned out to be a drug company-funded advertising supplement, Jane Pauley has sued the newspaper for fraud. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, the 55-year-old broadcaster charges that she believed that the Times interview was for a news article on mental health issues, but that the story (accompanied by a full-page photo) ... (more...)

Added: Oct 25, 2006 6:09 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Pact gives mentally ill options Patients decide which treatments they would allow October 16, 2006 BY JIM RITTER Health Reporter Chicago Sun Times If you're hospitalized and unable to make health decisions, a living will can guide doctors about how much medical intervention you want.But what if you have a mental breakdown? A similar document, called a psychiatric advance directive, details the mental health treatments you would prefer. Psychiatric advance directives, or PADs, have been available for years, and Illinois' document is among the best, experts say. But PADs are little known and seldom ... (more...)

Added: Oct 23, 2006 2:29 pm | 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. Shock Treatment: Efficacy, Memory Loss, and Brain Damage PDF: 300k

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

Cambridge Evening News August 11, 2006 INFORMATION given to some mental patients are before they undergo electric shock treatment has been criticised. Supporters of Electric Convulsive Therapy (ECT) say the treatment is a "last resort" for patients who are severely depressed and it can help stop them committing suicide. ECT "resets" the brain with an electric pulse. Opponents say there is little evidence it works. They claim it can have severe side-effects and is a form of torture. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Trust has revealed it has conducted 2,600 ECT treatments since 2002. On average 50-55 people a year are given ECT by the trust in a course of six to 12 treatments. It said 26 people were done in Cambridge during the past year. Mental health ... (more...)

Added: Aug 11, 2006 9:20 pm | 6 Comments |  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 Settings Harold A. Sackeim1,2,3, Joan Prudic1,2, Rice Fuller4, John Keilp2,5, Philip W. Lavori6, and Mark Olfson*,2,7 1 Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY; 2Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY; 3 Department of Radiology, College ... (more...)

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