Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Case Study

Convulsive therapy was introduced in the 1930s by psychiatrist Ladislas Joseph Meduna. He first induced seizures with camphor in schizophrenic patients. Out of his first 26 schizophrenic patients, 10 of them recovered, three who had good results, and 13 didn’t show any improvement. He eventually changed his method and used pentylenetetrazol rather than camphor. Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bini were the first psychiatrists to successfully treat a human patient diagnosed with schizophrenia with electroconvulsive therapy. The patient had a full recovery after 11 ECTs. It was found that ECT became a very popular treatment because it was cheaper and could be very effective with 10-20 treatments. A side effect of ECT was retrograde amnesia, so the patients

It is the only form of shock therapy that is used in psychiatry today. ECT has had fundamental changes since it was introduced 75 years ago (Fink, 2009). When modifications were first being made to reduce memory loss and confusion, the convulsions caused fractures or dislocations of bones. Currently, anesthesia, controlled oxygenation, and muscle relaxation are a part of the procedure and therefore it can be safer than some psychotropic drugs (Fink, 2009). The advances in the technique of ECT allow patients to receive different doses in different areas of their brain, along with different pulses. Electroconvulsive therapy is a procedure in which an electric stimulus is induced to patients producing seizures to provide relief from psychiatric illnesses. Patients must give consent before receiving ECT. ECT is usually performed two to three times a week for about two to seven weeks. Medication is given to the patient for four to six months to support the treatment. If symptoms recur, treatment can be prescribed for longer periods. To this day, electroconvulsive therapy is one of the most controversial psychiatric

He is best known for his work with electroconvulsive therapy and is a big advocate for the use of ECT. He believes that with the right psychiatrist, anesthesiologists, and nurses a patient’s symptoms are relieved. Doctors tend to suggest ECT as a last resort to patients who haven’t improved from medication or other treatments. Fink believes that with the advancements in ECT technique, it should be used earlier instead of being a last resort. Most of the time, patients who consider receiving ECT are already hospitalized. These patients could be depressed or be contemplating suicide. These patients also don’t respond well to the other treatments given to them. Their daily life is greatly affected and they could suffer from dangerous symptoms caused by the medications (Fink, 2009). Elderly patients are referred to ETC early while adolescents go through other treatments prior to ECT. Many times, doctors will wait to suggest ECT for children because they believe it is caused by dysfunctional families or other environmental issues in the child’s life. Once it comes to the point of the child being unbearable to the family, ECT is recommended. However, Fink states that children who have received ECT improve and are able to return to their home and school with the same behavior as other kids. Because patients and therapists favor medications and psychotherapy over ECT, the patient has to continue to live with an illness and