Weighing the Risks and Benefits of Shock Therapy
More on Shock Therapy
Kitty Dukakis Backs ECT for Depression Sep. 27, 2006
Depression Treatments Move Beyond Electro-Shock Feb. 12, 2005
Rob McGruder's ECT Odyssey Jan. 7, 2002
Nearly 100 thousand Americans sign up for electro-shock therapy every year to treat severe depression. Many patients call it life-saving, yet scientists still struggle to explain why it is effective. Critics say the procedure is barbaric and that doctors underplay the risk of post-therapy memory loss.
Kitty Dukakis, co-author, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy
Larry Tye, co-author, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy
Sarah Lisanby, chief of the Brain Stimulation and Neuromodulation Division, Columbia University; chairperson of the American Psychiatric Association Committee on ECT and Related Electromagnetic Therapies; president of the International Society for Transcranial Stimulation
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