Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Practice A Patient’s Journey

Electroconvulsive therapy

BMJ 2008; 337 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2998 (Published 30 December 2008) Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2998

Rapid Response:

ECT Contraindications

Apparently mainstream psychiatry has determined that the well-
documented
brain damage caused by ECT [1], the resultant memory and cognitive
dysfunction [2], and the psychological trauma of coming to the realization
that one's ability to experience and enjoy life has been compromised on
a neurological level [3] are of no long-term consequence to depressed and
often already-traumatized patients, despite consistent patient feedback
to the contrary [4].

My only question is: Why?

[1] http://retina.anatomy.upenn.edu/pdfiles/Oct2002NYC.pdf

[2] http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n1/full/1301180a.html

[3] http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/316/7138/1160

[4] http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7403/1363

Competing interests:
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

26 January 2009
Richard J Winkel
Programmer
65256