CVMC seeks OK for shock therapy November 5, 2007 By Mel Huff Times Argus Staff BERLIN – Central Vermont Medical Center is seeking state approval to provide electroconvulsive therapy to a small number of psychiatric ... (more...)

Added: Dec 14, 2007 1:20 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

By Marie Woolf and Sophie Goodchild Published: 17 June 2007 The Independent A government U-turn tomorrow will herald huge improvements in mental- health treatment for young people. In a series of compromise changes to its controversial Mental Health Bill, the Government will curb the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on teenagers and ensure they do not have to share wards with adults, who are often disturbed and dangerous. As the Bill reaches a crunch phase in the Commons, amendments will mean no child under 18 will be givenECT without a second opinion from a doctor. Children must also be treated in an environment appropriate for their age. The U-turns follow criticism from a powerful coalition of mental health charities, psychiatrists, MPs and peers, who tore ... (more...)

Added: Jun 18, 2007 4:36 pm | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

By Graham Keeley in Barcelona 28 December 2006 The Independent In the dying days of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship, Antoni Ruiz found out for himself what thousands of others had already suffered for being gay. Antoni, then just 17, from Valencia, eastern Spain, told his mother he was homosexual and his family sought advice from a nun. "She went straight to the police and I was arrested and sent for trial," said Mr Ruiz. "I spent three months in prison. I was raped there and in the police cells and psychologically tortured by both the guards and the prison doctor." Now, 31 years later, Mr Ruiz and a dwindling band of others who suffered General Franco's ruthless repression of homosexuals, may finally be offered compensation by ... (more...)

Added: Dec 30, 2006 11:42 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

An interesting report from John Dawson reviews laws in New Zealand, Switzerland, the UK and Canada. from: COMMUNITY TREATMENT ORDERS: INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS John Dawson May 2005 Funded by the New Zealand Law Foundation Referring to the canton of Geneva: "There is an active consumer advocacy organisation, known as the Patients' Council, and the use of ECT is banned by law in the canton." Page 82: Full report

Added: Oct 24, 2006 11:58 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Honorable members of the Committee on Children, Families and Health: It is with regret that I am unable to testify in person today due to a family emergency, but I do appreciate the opportunity to submit this statement concerning HB 134. My name is Juli Lawrence and I live in Belleville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis. I am an ECT survivor, a researcher, and member of the National Advisory Committee for the Center for Mental Health Services/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. I am currently working on three ECT studies, which will be published later this year. Two of these studies address the very issue of ECT reporting. Today the state of Missouri has the unique opportunity to become a leader ... (more...)

Added: Jul 24, 2006 11:10 pm | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Texas Administrative Code TITLE 25 HEALTH SERVICES PART 2 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL RETARDATION CHAPTER 405 CLIENT (PATIENT) CARE SUBCHAPTER E ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY (ECT) RULE §405.112 Report of ECT (a) Reporting requirements for state facilities and community centers. (1) A report of each individual ECT administered to a patient shall be entered into the patient's medical record and shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (A) diagnosis for which ECT given; (B) date of treatment; (C) type of ECT machine used; (D) duration and strength of electrical stimulation; (E) all medications administered; and (F) any complications or adverse effects. (2) A report of all ECT treatments will be provided at the end of each month to the chief executive officer. The report shall include the following: (A) name, age, gender, and identification number of patient; (B) ... (more...)

Added: Jul 23, 2006 11:12 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

LUSTER OFFERS ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY BILLS Assemblyman Marty Luster (D-Ithaca), chairman of the Assembly's Mental Health Committee, today announced introduction of a comprehensive package of legislation to respond to the increased use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in New York State. Luster also announced that the committee will hold a second public hearing on the subject, ECT, a medical procedure that entails sending an electric charge through an individual's brain in order to trigger a grand mal seizure, is a method used to help people with certain mental illnesses. While advocates claim positive results using ECT, opponents charge that ECT causes brain damage and, in most cases, permanent memory loss. Luster said that the Assembly first became aware of current issues surrounding ECT use at ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Hello. My name is Anne Krauss. I'm presently employed as the Administrator for the National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy, although I am here today as a private citizen, not as a representative for that organization. Up until March 21 this year, I worked for the New York State Office of Mental Health as Recipient Affairs Specialist for Long Island. On March 9, I received a call from John Tauriello, Deputy Commissioner and Counsel of the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYS OMH) and Robert Meyers, NYS OMH Deputy Director of the Division of Community Care Systems Management. They informed me that if I continued to actively advocate on behalf of Paul Thomas in his efforts to ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

After releasing a package of 4 bills earlier this week aimed at providing stronger oversight and protections in the use of electroconvulsive treatment in NYS, Assembly Mental Health Committee Chair Marty Luster has announced a date for a second hearing in Albany, intended particularly to gain feedback about the 4 bills and related concerns. Since the Senate will not have the time to respond before it leaves town this week, it appears very unlikely that there will be a chance to pass final ECT legislation this session. However, the Senate reportedly is interested in enacting protective legislation on ECT and may indeed introduce its own bills next session, some of which could conceivably corresspond to Assembly proposals. THE ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON MENTAL ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

TESTIMONY OF JOHN M. FRIEDBERG, M.D., NEUROLOGIST, BEFORE THE MENTAL HEALTH COMMITTEE OF THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MARTIN LUSTER PRESIDING NYC, May 18, 2001 "In view of the primitive simplicity of their minds, they (the masses) more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a little one, since they themselves lie in little things, but would be ashamed of lies that were too big." Adolph Hitler. Mein Kampf, Vol.1, Ch. 10, 1924 tr. Ralph Manheim, 1943 INTRODUCTION My name is John Friedberg. I am a board certified neurologist practicing in Berkeley, California. I was born in Far Rockaway (NYC) in 1942, graduated Lawrence High School, Yale University and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and for the past twenty years I've been ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

TESTIMONY OF LEONARD ROY FRANK AT A PUBLIC HEARING ON ELECTROCONVULSIVE "TREATMENT" BEFORE THE MENTAL HEALTH COMMITTEE OF THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY, MARTIN A. LUSTER (CHAIRMAN), MANHATTAN, 18 MAY 2001 My name is Leonard Roy Frank, from San Francisco, and I'm here representing the Support Coalition International based in Eugene, Oregon. SCI unites 100 sponsoring groups who oppose all forms of psychiatric oppression and support humane approaches for assisting people said to be "mentally ill." This year the United Nations recognized Support Coalition International as "a Non-Governmental Organization with Consultative Roster Status." I've taken the epigraph for my presentation from a talk on the Holocaust by Hadassah Lieberman, the wife of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, which was rebroadcast on C-SPAN last month. ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

By J. Prudic, M. Olfson, and H.A. Sackeim Summary Background: Controlled studies have demonstrated that ECT technique impacts on the efficacy and cognitive side effects. However, there is little information on the extent of variation in how ECT is practiced in community settings. Introduction: Good quality of care implies provision of care that is technically competent. Due to concerns about the possibility of widespread use of suboptimal technique, the national Institutes of Health Consensus Conference Panel called for a National survey of ECT practice in the U.S. This was never performed. Methods. A survey of practice patterns was conducted at ECT facilities in the greater New York City metropolitan area, Findings: The majority of patients were greater than 60 years of age. The forms of ECT administered varied ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Testimony to New York Assembly Hearing on Electroshock July 18, 2001 John Breeding, Ph.D. 2503 Douglas St. Austin, Texas 78741 (512) 326-8326 www.wildestcolts.com My name is John Breeding. I am a psychologist from Austin, Texas. I testified in New York at the hearing in May on forced electroshock, and I am grateful to Assemblyman Luster for his enlightened leadership and determination to investigate electroshock practice in New York State. I am also grateful to Assemblyman Ortiz for his resolve and leadership in proposing electroshock legislation, and to all the other committee members for their concern about this issue. Electroshock is practiced throughout the United States. Texas, where I come from, has perhaps the strongest controls of any state, including a reporting law, an emphatic demand for informed consent, ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

While the bills introduced in New York by Marty Luster have some merit, there are some real problems as well. If you can take the time, particularly if you are a New York voter, please voice your concerns to Marty Luster's office and let them know what you think. Following is an analysis of the bills by Tina Minkowitz: Hi, some of you may have seen the NYAPRS email from Harvey today urging everyone to call assembly representatives & urge passage of the electroshock bills. I want to just sound a note of caution: First, please familiar yourselves with the bills & decide for yourself whether or not they are worth supporting. some activists including the leader of CTIP, an organization of electroshock survivors ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

THE PRACTICE OF ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TREATMENT, TRAINING, AND PRIVILEGING SECOND EDITION A TASK FORCE REPORT OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION 2001 SUMMARY * ECT should not be reserved for use only as a "last resort" * Some medical conditions substantially increase the risk of ECT treatment * Elderly patients maybe at greater risk for more persistent confusion and greater memory deficits during and after ECT * Few studies address the use of ECT in children and adolescents * To some extent, medical adverse events can be anticipated * ECT facilities should be appropriately equipped and staffed with personnel to manage potential clinical emergencies * Each facility should have a minimal set of procedures that are to be undertaken in all cases * It is incumbent on facilities using ECT to ... (more...)

Added: Jul 22, 2006 12:11 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print