Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, in the past sometimes called electric convulsion therapy, convulsion treatment or electroplexy) is a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are induced with electricity.[1] ECT was first used in the United Kingdom in 1939 and, although its use has been declining for several decades, it was still given to about 11,000 people a year in the early 2000s.[2]
In contemporary psychiatric practice, ECT is used mainly in the treatment of depression. It is occasionally used in the treatment of other disorders such as schizophrenia.[2] When undergoing modern ECT, a patient is given an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant. A brief-pulse electric current of about 800 milliamperes is passed between two electrodes on the head for several seconds, causing a seizure.[3] The resulting convulsion is modified by the muscle relaxant. ECT is usually given on an inpatient basis; about one in five treatments are given on an outpatient basis.[2] Treatment is usually given twice a week (occasionally three times a week) for a total of 6–12 treatments, although courses may be longer or shorter.[2] About 70 per cent of ECT patients are women.[2] About 1,500 ECT patients a year in the UK are treated without their consent under the Mental Health Acts or the provisions of common law.[4]