My brother Adam is currently being held as a prisoner in a State Psychiatric Hospital. He doesn't want to be there, the family does not want him there, but for reasons I do not understand, the hospital is being allowed to forcibly contain him. I thought the Law in America was " Innocent until proven guilty " but in my brother's case, he is being punished before he commits the crime. The reasoning behind this is that one day, maybe, Adam could do harm to someone or to himself. There is no reason for this speculation, for Adam is not of violent nature. I'm his sister, I grew up with him, I should know. However Adam does suffer from A ... (more...)

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

After months of feeling hopeless and doubtful that anyone will take interest in improving my brother's situation and the situation of many others in the same desperate position, I, as well as my parents are happy and optimistic about the passing of this legislation. It's a great first step towards improving the quality of care for these patients. I hope it will be followed with further legislation to focus on the patient's right to choose alternative means of therapy as well as giving the family the ability to disagree with the doctor's recommendations and the authority to pursue alternative treatments. It is frightening to think that electroshock is currently being performed without access to emergency medical equipment at Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, ... (more...)

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

May 17,2001 The MHLS for all four Judicial Departments submit this letter in connection with the issue of how informed consent is obtained for ECT. 1. The OMH regulations do not contain adequate safeguards for ensuring that the patient has been fully informed of the risks and benefits of the procedure and is capable of giving informed consent. 2. In the case of non-objecting, incapacitated patients, we question whether OMH has the power to vest relatives with the authority to give surrogate consent to ECT. We also question whether the OMH regulations on surrogate consent for ECT comport with the current statutory framework 3. The OMH regulations are inadequate with respect to the procedure to be followed when surrogate consent for ECT is sought ... (more...)

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

May 22, 2003 New Zealand Herald The Government has agreed to a review of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), but says it is a safe and important treatment option for severely depressed people. The Government's response to the health select committee's report on a petition against the use of ECT was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. The petition claimed ECT was degrading and inhumane, always caused brain damage and when forced on people breached the Bill of Rights. The Government said it agreed with the committee that an independent expert should review the use of ECT and the Mental Health Commission should look at compulsory treatment with ECT. It said the call for mandatory ECT audits guidelines, standards and codes of ethics was unnecessary, as there were safeguards ... (more...)

Added: Jul 18, 2006 9:00 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Press Release from MIND 3-26-03 PSYCHIATRISTS' APPEAL TO NICE TO DROP NEW RESTRICTIONS ON ECT FAILS AS USERS' VIEWS WIN RESPECT An appeal by the Royal College of Psychiatrists to NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) to drop new restrictions on ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) treatments, contained in draft guidance, has failed. Mind has congratulated NICE on their decision and the way they gave due credibility to the evidence submitted on behalf of people who had been given ECT treatments, and who want tighter controls. The Royal College was unhappy that ECT treatments were to be restricted to those people who have severe symptoms and not available to people with moderate symptoms. Mind argues that it should only be given as a treatment of last ... (more...)

Added: Jul 18, 2006 1:00 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Feb. 14, 2003 Lexington Herald Leader Kentuckians would be entitled to sign an advance directive indicating what kinds of mental health treatment they prefer, under House Bill 99, approved by the House Health and Welfare Committee yesterday. The bill allows people with mental health conditions to voice their feelings on certain treatments, choose whether they want electroconvulsive or "shock" therapy, and designate someone to make sure their wishes are carried out when they show up for treatment in a crisis, said Sheila Schuster, director of the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition. The Health and Welfare Committee also approved bills to hire full-time ombudsmen throughout the state, to reactivate the Task Force on Quality Long Term Care, and to require state public policy to take ... (more...)

Added: Jul 18, 2006 12:08 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Casper Star Tribune By C.G. WALLACE Associated Press Writer SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A bill that would have banned those under the age of 18 and pregnant women from electroshock therapy was heard by a House committee Thursday night, which decided not to vote on the legislation. After two hours of public comment and committee debate, the House Health and Human Services Committee voted to adjourn without voting. That means the committee could continue discussion of the bill later in the session. During electroconvulsive therapy, an electric current is quickly passed through the brain from electrodes attached to the head. Those receiving treatment are put under general anesthetic. The treatment is used for severe mental illnesses, most commonly severe depression. Five facilities in Utah use ... (more...)

Added: Jul 18, 2006 12:06 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Feb. 14, 2003: Committee fails to vote; postponed Rep. Katherine M. Bryson is sponsoring a bill in her home state of Utah (HB 109) that would require informed consent before having ECT, as well as mandate data collection and other requirements when giving ECT. HB 109 is a crucial bill that needs to be passed. ect.org supports this bill and Rep. Bryson's work without question, and I ask that you give your support to HB 109 and Rep. Bryson. Please read through the bill and take the time to express your support and thank Rep. Bryson for her hard work in getting this bill introduced into the Utah House of Representatives. Email Rep. Katherine Bryson at Kbryson@utah.gov and let her know what you ... (more...)

Added: Jul 18, 2006 12:05 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

By Morgan W. Brown January 20, 2000 Within the walls of the Vermont Legislature today (Thursday, January 20, 2000), H. 12 - a bill supposedly dealing with providing citizens with the illusion of "informed consent" regarding shock treatment (ECT) was passed by the House. The shock bill will now be brought under consideration in the Senate. During the floor action in the House, there was an amendment offered to the bill before it was read the third time and passed. The amendment offered by Rep. Bouricius of Burlington was in two parts and at his request was divided into two separate questions to be voted on. The first of these concerned whether the Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services (DDMHS) "Shall" promulgate and ... (more...)

Added: Jul 17, 2006 12:06 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Dear Sirs, Mental Health Bill: For the Consultation Process I have been unable to access the area of the official website which contains the Draft Bill law, but my understanding is, the following is set to apply re. 'Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) (Draft Bill clauses 118-120)' "The Bill would allow ECT to be given without consent if it were expressly authorised by the Tribunal, or where it constituted urgent treatment. The Tribunal would be able to authorise ECT irrespective of whether the person had capacity to consent. "The procedure for urgent treatment does not require prior approval and it allows two applications of the treatment. The treatment must be immediately necessary to save the patient's life, prevent a serious deterioration in his or her condition, alleviate ... (more...)

Added: Jul 17, 2006 12:05 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Wayne Smyth West Australia desk In the heart of Europe, nestled between Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary, ECT is forbidden in Slovenia, which serves as a cradle of sanity on this topic. The only caveat, per Igor Spreizer co-chair of 'ALTRA, Committee for Innovation in Mental Health' Ljubljana, Slovenia, is that a small number of patients are referred outside of Slovenia to Zagreb, Croatia where the procedure is still used. Slovenian authorities claim only 3-12 patients are referred each year. This, nonetheless, does make Slovenia, effectively, an ECT Free Zone. ALTRA (loosely from the word alternative) has been active and effective in advocacy and patient rights. This is not without attention from official psychiatry, which ALTRA has fought with many times. While ALTRA, which ... (more...)

Added: Jul 17, 2006 12:04 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

New York Post By DOUGLAS MONTERO May 20, 2001 -- LINDA Andre has a five-year hole in her life. Chilling things happen to her, like the time she met a man in the street - a man she had once had an intimate relationship with - and did not recognize him. She treated him like a stranger. There's the time she sat down to read a book only to be told she'd already read it. There are happy times forever lost in that five-year hole. Her graduation from NYU, acceptance into its graduate school, vacationing in California, or the day her roommate called the fire department when their room flooded - all were erased from her mind. Last week, Andre, 41, attended a hearing of the ... (more...)

Added: Jul 17, 2006 12:02 pm | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

HB406, which prohibits ECT on children under age 16, has a floor date of March 8, 2001. If you are an electroshock survivor, you are urged to contact those involved and tell your stories/voice your opinions. From someone involved, a report on the last committee meeting: The HB406, anti-shock, insulin shock and psychosurgery bill on kids under age 16 was interesting. NAMI stayed out of the picture and the NH Consumer Council came forward in favor of the bill. Three legislators testified in favor of the bill and none against it. Five shock psychiatrists and the Human Services Dept. came out against the bill. Without the NAMI buffer, it was clear that the patients didn't like the psychiatrists. BAN ECT, INSULIN SHOCK AND PSYCHOSURGERY ... (more...)

Added: Jul 17, 2006 12:02 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

News flash! Final: The bill went to the Missouri Senate as part of SB266, where it went to committee. There, it was stripped off the bill. Sen. Betty Sims opposed the bill, saying it was too "controversial." I honestly fail to understand why data collection is controversial and Sen. Betty Sims disappoints me. I thought our elected officials went into office to do the right thing, not avoid controversy. Older update: Missouri HB134, which would require ECT reporting, has now passed out of the Children, Families, and Health Committee, with a vote of 10 to 1. The dissenting voter was Rep. Vicky Riback Wilson. Four members were not present. Next, the bill must be pushed to the floor for a vote, or may be tacked onto ... (more...)

Added: Jul 17, 2006 12:02 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

A report submitted to the Department of Community Health Recipient Rights Advisory Committee on June 14, 2001, by committee member Ben Hansen. Michigan's Mental Health Code prohibits the administration of involuntary electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, electroshock) to an adult who has no guardian. Section 717 (1) (a) of the Code states, "A recipient shall not be the subject of electroconvulsive therapy or a procedure intended to produce convulsions or coma unless consent is obtained from ... the recipient, if he or she is 15 years of age or older and does not have a guardian for medical purposes." Unfortunately, this section of the Code is ignored by probate judges who sign court orders authorizing involuntary ECT in direct violation of Michigan law. In October ... (more...)

Added: Jul 17, 2006 12:02 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print