Electroconvulsive Therapy

A psychiatric treatment for intractable severe depression is electroconvulsive shock therapy. I think when I came into the class, I had as much knowledge as (or less than) the general public about electroshock therapy. It sounds scary, brutal, and unscientific. By applying a strong electrical voltage at the temples of a patient, a grand mal seizure is induced. I get visions of "One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest" (which, incidentally, was filmed at a VA that I volunteered in) with sadistic administrators trying to control crazy patients. But that's not the case at all. Electroshock therapy is something that takes 10 minutes, is supervised by physicians, and has a remarkable response rate for grave depression. It works better than medications (but has a high relapse rate). And though no one knows how it works, it seems to be benign and has no contraindications (not even pregnancy). Pretty interesting.