Electroconvulsive Therapy: Case Examples

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Stimulus Electrode Placement
For many years, stimulus electrodes were applied bitemporally, with midpoints of the electrodes approximately 1 inch above the midpoint of a line connecting the external canthus with the…

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Seizure Monitoring

Monitoring of Motor Response
Seizure monitoring has long been an integral component of ECT technique (Weiner et al. 1991). Traditionally, this monitoring has consisted of the detection of…

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Continuation/Maintenance Therapy

Continuation/Maintenance Pharmacotherapy
For the most part, individuals referred for ECT have disorders that are associated with a high risk of recurrence, particularly during the first 6 months…

Staffing and Location of ECT Treatments
The safe and effective provision of ECT requires a highly trained and experienced staff that includes a psychiatrist, a provider of anesthesia, and, generally,…

Electroconvulsive Therapy Technique

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Side Effects

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Contraindications and High-Risk Situations
It is now recognized that there are no “absolute” contraindications for the use of ECT. The decision to give any treatment is based on…

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Other Disorders

Mental Disorders
There is a long history of ECT being used for the primary treatment of a variety of conditions other than major mood disorders and schizophrenia, including…

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Schizophrenia

Evidence for Acute-Phase Efficacy
Although the first use of ECT was reported in patients with schizophrenia, it was not long before it was appreciated that the efficacy of ECT in…

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Manic Episodes

Evidence for Acute-Phase Efficacy
ECT is highly effective in its ability to induce a remission in manic states, with 80% of patients showing marked improvement (Mukherjee et al.…

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Major Depressive Episodes

Evidence for Acute-Phase Efficacy
It is generally accepted that ECT is the most rapid and effective treatment available for major depressive episodes (Weiner and Coffey 1988).…

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Indications
General Issues
When Is ECT Indicated?

Indications for any treatment are governed by two types of considerations: the presence of an episode of a disorder for which the treatment…

Introduction

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the use of electrically induced seizures for therapeutic purposes. Now, more than 60 years since its first use,…