“Shock tactics”, ethics, and fear. An academic and personal perspective on the case against ECT.

TY - JOUR

T1 - “Shock tactics”, ethics, and fear. An academic and personal perspective on the case against ECT.

AU - Gergel, Tania

PY - 2022/3

Y1 - 2022/3

N2 - Despite extensive evidence for its effectiveness, ECT remains the subject of fierce opposition from those contesting its benefits and claiming extreme harms. Alongside some reflections on my experiences of this treatment, I examine the case against ECT, and find that it appears to rest primarily on unsubstantiated claims about major ethical violations, rather than clinical factors such as effectiveness and risk.

AB - Despite extensive evidence for its effectiveness, ECT remains the subject of fierce opposition from those contesting its benefits and claiming extreme harms. Alongside some reflections on my experiences of this treatment, I examine the case against ECT, and find that it appears to rest primarily on unsubstantiated claims about major ethical violations, rather than clinical factors such as effectiveness and risk.

KW - Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); depression; bipolar disorder; lived experience; ethics; involuntary treatment.

UR - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35049476/

M3 - Article

SN - 0007-1250

VL - 220

SP - 109

EP - 112

JO - British Journal of Psychiatry

JF - British Journal of Psychiatry

IS - 3

M1 - doi: 10.1192/bjp.2021.116

ER -