The National Institute of Health

The National Institute of Health put together an extensive conference on electroconvulsive therapy. The conference not only included the top shock docs, but also survivors and doctors who speak out against ECT. At times it was heated, but the resulting document, the NIH Consensus Statement, is the best "official" statement in existence.

The American Psychiatric Association's official statement on ECT. P-A-R-T-Y L-I-N-E.

And from the Canadian Psychiatric Association, the official position paper.

An informed consent statement, with my comments in red. This is a very good statement overall, but unfortunately is not used widely.

Here's a great informed consent statement, with an extensive bibliography. Somehow I doubt this is lying around Max Fink's office.

Everything you ought to know about ECT. The ECT Frequently Asked Questions from CTIP (Committee for Truth In Psychiatry, an international organization for shock survivors. Email me if you'd like to join. $10 will get you a subscription to the Shockwaves newsletter!)

The 1990 APA Task Force on ECT. I have only scanned portions of it so far (it's huge). Here is the info on electrical parameters and informed consent.

CMHS Report is released
The official Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) reportis out! After lots of politics about this report, including efforts by NAMI to censor any information critical to ECT, the report is here online!

Among the findings:

*It is.. .well established that ECT produces memory deficits. Deficits in memory function, which have been demonstrated objectively and repeatedly, persist after the termination of a normal course of ECT.
*The importance (and lack of) informed consent
*The use of coercion
*Immediate research needs, including the need to fully research memory loss and brain damage concerns.

Censorship at CMHS
Read the portion of the report that was censored, due to pressure from NAMI.

The Salford Report on ECT
From the United Kingdom, a massive report on the use of ECT across the UK, with numerous statistics on its use by gender, ethnic group, age, voluntary status, and so on. Warning: This is an enormous report. Or, just read the section dealing with ECT patient attitudes.

APA Report
From the American Psychiatric Association, here is the newest version of their statement on ECT...."The Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy: Recommendations for Treatment, Training and Privileging." The whole report is a few inches thick and a huge project to get scanned...but I've got the most important chapters scanned and ready to read.

A few points stand out in this report:
-Despite all the hoopla about unilateral ECT having fewer side effects, it's not very effective
-The results of ECT are very temporary, and this illustrates the need to continue the treatments indefinitely
-Memory loss does happen ("In many patients the recovery from retrograde amnesia will be incomplete, and there is evidence that ECT can result in persistent or permanent memory loss")

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