ABC News reporter Sibile Morency did an article recently about ECT. Don Weitz, Dr. John Breeding, Dr. Peter R. Breggin, and David Oaks are quoted in this article. A job well done by all.
See my comments re this article at the end of this article I posted at the abc.news page
Article URL is:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3397685&page=1Electroshock Therapy Gets a Makeover
Despite Changes, ECT still stirs controversy
By Sibile Morency
July 20, 2007
Amy, a New York resident, had her first electroshock treatment at the age of 72 … and despite the stigma that electroshock is a brutal, outdated procedure for treating psychiatric health, she said it's been a miracle for her.
And it's probably more common than most people believe.
"I started 10 years ago when I was very depressed. I was diagnosed as bipolar. I took medicine -- Prozac, a whole slew of them -- but they didn't help," she said. "Then a psychiatrist told one of my friends that I should have ECT. My friends told me to get ECT. It was the only solution, I couldn't go on the way I was. After ECT, everyone told me it was a miracle."
Amy, who asked that her last name not be used, is now 82 and continues to receive electroshock therapy regularly.
Although she admits that after each procedure she has a headache and her memory is temporarily "a little bit off," she insists that ECT has been a success for her.
"I know there's a lot of negative. I think it's a rather painless procedure. It's wonderful," she said. "If medicine doesn't work, then yes, I would recommend it to someone else."
The New Face of ECT
Since its terrifying depiction in the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," electroshock, or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has changed dramatically. According to doctors who use it, the administration of the anesthetic, changes in the type of electricity used and the way seizures are triggered have transformed the procedure, making it safer and more effective.
The latest clinically available form of ECT, called ultrabrief pulse unilateral, uses a briefer stimulus that lasts for .25 to .3 milliseconds, according to Dr. Sarah Lisanby at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. The difference in the type of electricity used allows doctors to induce seizures with lower amounts of electricity then was previously possible.
"It does away with lifelong memory loss," said Dr. Harold Sackheim, a leading proponent of ECT and chief of the department of biological psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. "If there is any memory loss, it's markedly reduced."
ECT Not Uncommon
Although there are no national reporting requirements for the number of procedures performed, experts estimate that approximately 100,000 patients a year in the United States and several million worldwide receive ECT. According to Dr. Mustafa Husain, the director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Training Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the newer version of ECT is becoming the standard in practice, particularly at academic medical centers and clinics due to its relatively low amount of adverse effects on the brain.
"We started the new ECT almost a year ago. All of our equipment is now ultrabrief pulse," he said.
Critics Call ECT Russian Roulette
Despite support from many well-respected physicians, ECT is still controversial. Critics view the procedure as a dangerous game of Russian roulette that should be banned.
"You hear from people who succeed. You don't hear from people who lost wedding or childbirth memories," said David Oaks, director of MindFreeedom, a nonprofit organization focused on human rights campaigns in mental health.
Dr. Peter Breggin, founder of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, is a staunch opponent of the practice.
"If you were in your kitchen, touched your stove and got a convulsion, you would be in the hospital. It would be treated as an emergency. You might even be given anti-seizure medication to ensure that you do not get another convulsion," Breggin said. "Psychiatry is the only place where you damage the brain and call it a cure."
Because unilateral ECT is a shock to the nondominant, nonverbal side of the brain, controls a person's intuition, creativity and emotions, Breggin said patients may have a harder time explaining the side effects they might experience.
"So people when damaged on the nonverbal side can't tell you about it. It's a ruse," Breggin insisted. "Ultrabrief pulse unilateral is still damaging the brain, but it's less obvious. It cures by creating a delirium in which the patient is incapable of normal human emotion."
John Breeding, an Austin, Texas, psychologist, is alarmed by the state of the industry.
"The shock industry is the Enron of mental health. If they're honest, and you ask them, 'How does shock work,' they'll say they don't really know," Breeding said.
Oaks agreed.
"They look at a problem as physical -- drug, drug, drug, drug, drug -- then they'll try shock. The system is so oriented toward this medical model approach. Relapse rate is enormous, so what's their answer? Maintenance shock," he said. "What has happened in the industry is that research has discounted people's memories."
ECT experts recognize the controversial history of the procedure and acknowledge the stigma attached to it.
"The stigma affects providers and patients. The treatment is perceived by the public as brutal," Sackheim said. "Undoubtedly people don't receive the treatment, because they're afraid of it. In some cases it's quite tragic because they may not live."
ECT proponents hope that the newer form of ECT will encourage more people to seek the procedure to cure their depression.
"Finding ways to make ECT safer, beneficial, lowers barriers to accessing the efficacy of this procedure," said Dr. Lisanby.
Still Searching for a Cure
Doctors who use ECT are the first to admit that the complete cure for severe depression still eludes them.
"ECT can be rapidly effective in treating [depression] but always needs maintenance treatment to maintain effects," Lisanby said.
Don Weitz, co-founder of the Coalition Against Psychiatric Assault, a group that opposes the use of ECT, said that the American public is in the dark about its use as a treatment.
"Most people think it no longer exists. When I meet people in the street, they say, 'You're kidding!' And it's increasingly for elderly women," Weitz said. "Two-thirds of people who get ECT are women. This is not a treatment. It always causes brain damage and it targets women."
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Sue's comments made below this article on the ABC.com re the above article:
I thank the reporter for giving David Oaks, Dr. John Breeding, Don Weitz, and Dr. Breggin the chance to speak their mind about electroshock (ECT) also known as electroconvulsive therapy.
I am Sue Clark-Wittenberg of Ottawa, Canada. My husband Steven and I founded in 2006, the Wittenberg Center to End Electroshock (WCEE) Our websites:
http://wittenbergces.blogspot.com and
http://psychiatrybuster.blogspot.com My email is:
2005.sueclark@gmail.comII had electroshock against my will when I was l7 years old in 1973 at the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital, in Ontario, Canada. On my 5th ECT my heart stopped and I had to be revived. I suffer from permanent memory loss and have difficulty in learning new things as a result of having had ECT. ECT should have been banned many years ago as there have been many reports and studies done to prove that ECT always causes brain damage.
Dr. Peter R. Breggin wrote an article recently called "Disturbing News for Patients and Shock Doctors Alike" that is on his website at www.breggin.com
Dr. John Breeding's websites are:
http://endofshock.com and
www.wildestcolts.comDon Weitz and Bonnie Burstow's websites are:
http://capa.oise.utoronto.ca and
http://capacanada.wordpress.comDavid Oaks, is head of Mindfreedom International and his website can be found at:
http://www.mindfreedom.orgOtherECT websites:
www.ect.org,
www.banshock.org,
www.antipsychiatry.org, www.stopshrinks.org
Stats for ECT yearly, 14,000 ECTs given in Ontario, Canada. 100,000 Americans, 50,000 ECTs given in the UK and worlwide it is estimated that 1 to 2 million get ECT.
ECT is barbaric, unethical, inhumane, torture and a crime against humanity and it must be banned now
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Sue's comments made on the Message Board at abc.com in the health section
message board. Here is my comment:
I thank the reporter for giving David Oaks, Dr. John Breeding, Don Weitz, Dr Bonnie Burstow and Dr. Breggin the chance to speak their mind about electroshock (ECT) also known as electroconvulsive therapy.
I am Sue Clark-Wittenberg of Ottawa, Canada. My husband Steven and I founded in 2006, the Wittenberg Center to End Electroshock (WCEE) Our websites:
http://wittenbergces.blogspot.com and
http://psychiatrybuster.blogspot.com My email is:
2005.sueclark@gmail.comI had electroshock against my will when I was l7 years old in 1973 at the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital, in Ontario, Canada. On my 5th ECT my heart stopped and I had to be revived. I suffer from permanent memory loss and have difficulty in learning new things as a result of having had ECT.
ECT should have been banned many years ago as there have been many reports and studies done to prove that ECT always causes brain damage.Dr. Peter R. Breggin wrote an article recently called "Disturbing News for Patients and Shock Doctors Alike" that is on his website at www.breggin.comDr.
John Breeding's websites are:
http://endofshock.com and
www.wildestcolts.comDon Weitz and Bonnie Burstow's websites are:
http://capa.oise.utoronto.ca and
http://capacanada.wordpress.com David Oaks, is head of Mindfreedom International and his website can be found at:
http://www.mindfreedom.orgOtherECT websites:
www.ect.org,
www.banshock.org,
www.antipsychiatry.org, www.stopshrinks.orgStats for ECT yearly, 14,000 ECTs given in Ontario, Canada. 100,000 Americans, 50,000 ECTs given in the UK and worlwide it is estimated that 1 to 2 million get ECT.ECT is barbaric, unethical, inhumane, torture and a crime against humanity and it must be banned now
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Above is a picture of Dr. Bonnie Burstow
