Is electro shock therapy still used today?

ECT is much safer today. Although ECT may still cause some side effects, it now uses electric currents given in a controlled setting to achieve the most benefit with the fewest possible risks.

Do hospitals still use shock therapy?

But electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is still being used — more in Europe than the United States — and it may be the most effective short-term treatment for some patients with depressive symptoms, a newly published review in the journal The Lancet suggests.

How much does ECT treatment cost?

ECT treatments cost $300 to $1,000 per treatment, with an initial course requiring five to 15 treatments followed by 10 to 20 maintenance treatments per year, the researchers noted. That means the annual cost can be more than $10,000, compared with a cost of several hundred dollars for many antidepressant medications.

What are shock treatments called today?

The basic idea remains the same: The treatment aims to ease mental illness symptoms by stimulating specific areas of the brain with mild electrical currents and “rebooting” brain activity. Today, it’s called electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, and it helps tens of thousands of patients each year.

Is electroconvulsive therapy still used for depression?

Does ECT Work? Extensive research has found ECT to be highly effective for the relief of major depression. Clinical evidence indicates that for individuals with uncomplicated, but severe major depression, ECT will produce substantial improvement in approximately 80 percent of patients.

What is the success rate for ECT?

Typically, ECT (whether inpatient or outpatient) is given two to three times a week for a total of six to twelve sessions. Some patients may need more or fewer treatments. These sessions improve depression in 70 to 90 percent of patients, a response rate much higher than that of antidepressant drugs.

What is the most serious side effect of ECT?

The most common side effects of ECT on the day of treatment include nausea, headache, fatigue, confusion, and slight memory loss, which may last minutes to hours. These risks must be balanced with the consequences of ineffectively treated severe psychiatric disorders.