When did they start using electric shock to treat insanity?
A 1940 New York Times article with the headline “Insanity Treated by Electric Shock” described the treatment as “safer than injections” and “less expensive and less disagreeable.” Over time, doctors learned that it was more useful for people with other types of illnesses — like severe depression that didn’t respond to other forms of treatment.
Who invented the electric shock?
The electric shock, the article said, “is produced by a small portable electric box which was invented in Italy by Professor Ugo Cerletti of the Rome University Clinic.” Dr. S. Eugene Barrera, the principal researcher on the project, “emphasized that hope for any ‘miracle cure’ must not be pinned on the new method.”
Is the fight over electric shock treatment over?
A decades-long fight over an electric shock treatment led to an FDA ban. But the fight is far from over. “What they’re doing is just taking people that have issues and just building more,” said Rico Torres, who was first shocked at eight years old.
When was electroconvulsive therapy first used?
Credit: Science Museum, London Wellcome Images (CC BY 4.0) ECT was invented in Italy in the late 1930s. Psychiatrists had already discovered that inducing seizures could relieve symptoms of mental illness. Before ECT, this was done with the use of chemicals, usually one called Metrazol.
What did shock therapy cure?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a medical treatment most commonly used in patients with severe major depression or bipolar disorder that has not responded to other treatments.
What was ECT originally used to treat?
Electroconvulsive therapy was born. In 1938, Cerletti and his psychiatrist colleague Lucio Bini developed the first ECT device and treated their first human patient, a diagnosed schizophrenic with delusions, hallucinations, and confusion.
Why did they give electric shock treatment?
Why it's done. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can provide rapid, significant improvements in severe symptoms of several mental health conditions. ECT is used to treat: Severe depression, particularly when accompanied by detachment from reality (psychosis), a desire to commit suicide or refusal to eat.
What was ECT used for in 1950s?
ECT, introduced during a period of unprecedented therapeutic optimism in psychiatry, became the mainstay of biological treatments for psychiatric disorders during the 1940s and 1950s. Other somatic treatments were introduced during this period, but ECT was the only treatment that flourished.
How was depression treated in the 60s?
Exorcisms, drowning, and burning were popular treatments of the time. Many people were locked up in so-called "lunatic asylums." While some doctors continued to seek physical causes for depression and other mental illnesses, they were in the minority.
Why is ECT so controversial?
Reasons for Controversy Three reasons are given for the aversion: 1) ECT is considered old-fashioned and politically incorrect; 2) it is forced on the patient; and 3) the memory disturbances are so severe and persistent that no rational human being would undergo this procedure, no matter how well-intended.
Do they still perform 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.
Is shock therapy still used today?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure used to treat certain psychiatric conditions. It involves passing a carefully controlled electric current through the brain, which affects the brain's activity and aims to relieve severe depressive and psychotic symptoms. Modern day ECT is safe and effective.
Why is ECT used for depression?
With ECT, an electrical stimulation is delivered to the brain and causes a seizure. For reasons that doctors don't completely understand, this seizure helps relieve the symptoms of depression. ECT does not cause any structural damage to the brain.
When did they stop giving electric shock therapy?
The use of ECT declined until the 1980s, "when use began to increase amid growing awareness of its benefits and cost-effectiveness for treating severe depression".
What are the long term effects of electric shock treatment?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been controversially associated with long-lasting memory problems. Verbal learning and memory deficits are commonly reported in studies of people with bipolar disorder (BD).
What was electroshock therapy used for in the 1940s?
It was quickly identified as being especially useful in the treatment of affective psychosis. The therapeutic value of ECT in schizophrenia was recognised as limited, but some psychiatrists saw it as useful to control the behaviour of institutionalised patients who had been diagnosed as schizophrenic.
What is electro shock therapy?
Electroshock therapy, also known as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), is a treatment for severe major depression, bipolar depression, and other mental health conditions. Psychiatrists may recommend ECT when a person does not respond well to other treatments. ECT uses electric currents to stimulate a person’s brain to induce a controlled seizure.
How does ECT work?
ECT uses electric currents to stimulate a person’s brain to induce a controlled seizure. Researchers do not exactly know how ECT works, but one theory is that it could regulate neurotransmitter activity. This article looks at how ECT works, whether it is an effective treatment, and its controversial history. It also discusses some alternative ...
How long does an ECT last?
An ECT session may last for about 1 hour, which includes 15–20 minutes for the procedure and 20–30 minutes of recovery time. A person may receive ECT two or three times a week for a total of between six and 12 sessions. The frequency and number of sessions will differ among individuals depending on the severity of the condition and ...
Why is ECT negative?
The negative perceptions of ECT originate from previous misuse and the historical lack of consistent administration of general anesthetics or muscle relaxants. Furthermore, when healthcare professionals first introduced ECT, many people did not consent to the therapy.
Why do doctors recommend ECT?
However, doctors recommend ECT for some people because it is low risk and carries few side effects. Researchers are still not sure how ECT works, but they understand that it has many effects on the brain, including increasing blood flow and triggering the release of neurotransmitters and hormones.
How long can you drive after ECT?
After the session, a person must not drive for 24 hours. They should also try to arrange for someone to stay with them until they go to sleep. Although ECT is an effective treatment, a person will need to continue their medication and receive more ECT sessions to prevent a relapse.
Is ECT a negative thing?
The media has tended to portray ECT in a negative light — for example, in the film version of “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”. However, attitudes toward ECT are changing, and people are beginning to view it as an effective treatment for those with mental health conditions that are resistant to medication and therapy.
Why did terror stalk the halls of euthanasia hospitals?
According to history professor Henry Friedlander, “Terror stalked the halls of the euthanasia hospitals not only because patients feared being selected for killing at any time or because some of the staff beat and maltreated them, but also because some medical procedures imposed unusual pain.”.
When is ECT administered?
Promotional materials are careful in describing the procedure and present a picture that’s quite benign: “ECT treatment is generally administered in the morning, before breakfast,” reads one brochure. “Prior to the actual treatment, the patient is given general anesthesia and a muscle relaxant.
What machines were used in the Moroccan prison system?
The center also had several Page-Russell electroshock machines, which were routinely used on prisoners. During the post-shock periods, Moroccan physicians questioned the detainees, seeking information about opponents to the king.”.
Does electricity shock the brain?
And Baughman says using electricity to shock the brain into a seizure—no matter how you do it—results in real and lasting harm. “You are creating a seizure which is prima facie evidence of brain damage,” he observes.
Does electric current cause seizures?
While the modern procedure is generally carried out without busted teeth and the more grisly features of its early practice, the principle is still the same: Electric current blazes through the brain to provoke a seizure—the logic being that seizures occurring in the brain have some therapeutic benefit, somehow.
Does ECT cause memory loss?
The brain damage caused by ECT results in varying degrees of memory loss and intellectu al and cognitive impairment , says Dallas psychiatrist Colin Ross. Ross also cites “substantial evidence” that the death rates from natural causes rise following an ECT regimen, particularly in the older patient population.
When was the Electroconvulsive Therapy Machine invented?
The conflicts over ECT have other sources. Electroconvulsive Therapy Machine 1945-60. Credit: Science Museum, London Wellcome Images (CC BY 4.0) ECT was invented in Italy in the late 1930s. Psychiatrists had already discovered that inducing seizures could relieve symptoms of mental illness.
When was ECT used?
ECT used as a threat in hospitals in 1950s. Many depictions of ECT in film and television have portrayed the therapy as an abusive form of control. Most famous is the film “ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ,” in which an unruly patient is subjected to the procedure as a punishment.
What treatment did Leia Organa use?
Fisher’s bravery, though, was not just in fighting the stigma of her illness, but also in declaring in her memoir “ Shockaholic ” her voluntary use of a stigmatized treatment: electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), often known as shock treatment.
How does ECT work?
ECT works by using electricity to induce seizures. This is certainly a counterintuitive way of treating illness. But many medical treatments, such as chemotherapy for cancer, require us to undergo terrible physical experiences for therapeutic purposes. The conflicts over ECT have other sources.
Why was ECT used in mental hospitals?
There is no question that ECT was benefiting patients then, but there is also a lot of evidence from that period showing that ECT, and the threat of it, were used in mental hospitals to control difficult patients and to maintain order on wards. ECT was also physically dangerous when first developed.
What was the power of ECT?
Kesey, though, would also have known about ECT’s power to relieve symptoms of mental illness, and one of the characters in the book attests to this. At that time, ECT was also used as a “treatment” for homosexuality, then considered by psychiatrists to be an illness.
How many people receive ECT?
Increasingly, ECT came to be provided with consent, and the use of modified ECT became standard. Now, psychiatrists estimate that about 100,000 Americans receive ECT. With the rise of the age of Prozac, our culture became more comfortable with physical fixes for those illnesses we continue to call “mental.”.
When was the electrical technique used in psychiatry?
The treatment worked just as planned, and the patient's condition improved markedly. Beginning in the 1940s, the electrical technique was adopted by almost every major psychiatric institution around the world as a treatment for serious mental disease.
Who invented electroconvulsive therapy?
Ugo Cerletti (1877-1963), the father of electroconvulsive therapy. Like many treatments in psychiatry and medicine more generally, ECT was discovered serendipitously (see Lieberman & Ogas, 2015). Early asylum keepers recognized that the symptoms of psychotic patients who also suffered from epilepsy seemed to improve after having a seizure.
How does electroconvulsive therapy work?
Although its exact mechanism of action is unknown, electroconvulsive therapy works by inducing seizure activity via electricity in the frontal lobes of the brain. The treatment itself lasts only several minutes, and a usual course of ECT involves treatment two or three times a week for a few weeks, followed by maintenance therapy on an outpatient ...
What caused the animal to enter an anesthetized coma-like state?
The electricity caused the animal to enter an anesthetized coma-like state. Cerletti wondered whether electricity applied to the heads of human patients would similarly produce anesthesia before provoking convulsions. Electroconvulsive therapy was born.
Where is the original ECT machine?
An original ECT machine used by Cerletti preserved at Museo di Storia della Medicina in Rome. Source: Francesca Pallone, used with permission. Around the same time, Italian neurologist Ugo Cerletti was experimenting with seizure induction in dogs by delivering electrical shocks directly to their heads.
Who invented the ECT device?
In 1938, Cerletti and his psychiatrist colleague Lucio Bini developed the first ECT device and treated their first human patient, a diagnosed schizophrenic with delusions, hallucinations, and confusion. The treatment worked just as planned, and the patient's condition improved markedly.
Who developed the ECT?
In the United States, ECT was advanced by psychiatrists Lothar Kalinowsky and Max Fink, among others. Fink remains professor emeritus of psychiatry and neurology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and has continued to write about the merits of ECT.
Who invented the electric shock?
The electric shock, the article said, “is produced by a small portable electric box which was invented in Italy by Professor Ugo Cerletti of the Rome University Clinic.”. Dr. S. Eugene Barrera, the principal researcher on the project, “emphasized that hope for any ‘miracle cure’ must not be pinned on the new method.”.
What is ECT therapy?
The article described “a new method, introduced in Italy, of treating certain types of mental disorders by sending an electric shock through the brain.”. It was the first time that what is now called electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, had been mentioned in The Times. The electric shock, the article said, “is produced by a small portable electric ...
What is shock therapy?
Treatment for mental illness in those days was fairly limited, but the family doctor suggested that she try a revolutionary new method: “shock therapy,” or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which involves using electricity to induce a seizure in the brain.
Why did the Romans use electric eels?
The ancient Romans used electric eels to treat problems like headache and gout. Doctors attempted to use electricity as a cure for different disorders in the 1700s as well, but the modern-day version of electroconvulsive therapy wasn’t developed until the 1930s.
What age did Sylvia Plath have ECT?
In 1953, at age 20 , the author and poet Sylvia Plath underwent ECT — the same year that my great-grandmother had the treatment.
Why did ECT fall out of favor?
But by the 1980s, ECT was making its way into mainstream psychiatry again, because many severely depressed people were not responding to medication. Scientific studies of the treatment proliferated as well.
What happened to Carmela?
It’s difficult to know exactly what happened nearly 70 years ago when Carmela had ECT. Most of my relatives who were alive at the time have died, and her medical records are long gone. After speaking to three relatives who were alive at the time and two others who have heard stories secondhand, here’s what I’ve managed to piece together.
Can ECT cause memory loss?
But it’s also due to two other factors: One bout of ECT is rarely enough to help people control their symptoms — and there’s a really good chance that it will cause some level of temporary, or long-term, memory loss. Still, tens of thousands of Americans allow doctors to apply electricity to their brains every year.
Is ECT a good treatment for depression?
But even though most psychiatrists now believe that ECT is an effective treatment for severe depression, it’s still the object of suspicion. This is due in part to the early methods of administering the treatment, which were, by all accounts, barbaric, and which still reverberate in our cultural consciousness.
When was the Electroconvulsive Therapy Machine invented?
Electroconvulsive Therapy Machine 1945-60. Science Museum, London, Wellcome Images, CC BY. ECT was invented in Italy in the late 1930s. Psychiatrists had already discovered that inducing seizures could relieve symptoms of mental illness. Before ECT, this was done with the use of chemicals, usually one called Metrazol.
Why was ECT used in mental hospitals?
There is no question that ECT was benefiting patients then, but there is also a lot of evidence from that period showing that ECT, and the threat of it, were used in mental hospitals to control difficult patients and to maintain order on wards. ECT was also physically dangerous when first developed.
How does ECT work?
ECT works by using electricity to induce seizures. This is certainly a counterintuitive way of treating illness. But many medical treatments, such as chemotherapy for cancer, require us to undergo terrible physical experiences for therapeutic purposes. The conflicts over ECT have other sources.
What is the most famous ECT movie?
Many depictions of ECT in film and television have portrayed the therapy as an abusive form of control. Most famous is the film “ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ,” in which an unruly patient is subjected to the procedure as a punishment.
How many people receive ECT?
Increasingly, ECT came to be provided with consent, and the use of modified ECT became standard. Now, psychiatrists estimate that about 100,000 Americans receive ECT. The antidepressant drug Prozac, also known as fluoxetine. REUTERS/Darren Staples.
What was the power of ECT?
Kesey, though, would also have known about ECT’s power to relieve symptoms of mental illness, and one of the characters in the book attests to this. At that time, ECT was also used as a “treatment” for homosexuality, then considered by psychiatrists to be an illness.
When did ECT use decline?
ECT use declined in the 1960s and 1970s, but revived starting in the early 1980s. During the years since, there have been a growing number of positive portrayals, often in patient memoirs like Fisher’s.
Where is the GED shock device used?
A GED shock device used at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Mass. NBC News.
What was Rico Torres's diagnosis?
NBC News. By the time he was seven, Torres had been diagnosed with a range of disorders from ADHD to attachment disorder and his behavior had become increasingly violent.
What is a GED device?
The device, called a graduated electronic decelerator (GED), was part of his treatment at Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Mass., which has for half a century been one of the most controversial institutions for people with disabilities in the country.
How old was Rico Torres when he was shocked?
Rico Torres was just eight the first time school staffers strapped electrodes to his legs and shocked him. They draped a 12-volt battery over his shoulders in a backpack, while a nearby teacher held a clear plastic box with a photo of his face attached. When Torres misbehaved, the teacher would reach inside the box and push a button ...
Why was Torres shocked?
Under his court-approved treatment plan, Torres could be shocked for threatening to hit another student or for running away, swearing or screaming, refusing to follow directions or "inappropriate urination," according to court records obtained by NBC News. One employee, he said, used to shock him in his sleep.
How old do you have to be to get off a syringe?
Today, those approved for the device are all over the age of 18 with severe developmental disabilities. Some were first put on it years or even decades ago, when they were children. The FDA ban required new treatment plans for anyone on the device and for them to be moved off it within 180 days.
When did the GED start?
After the introduction of the GED in the early 90s, the most controversial cases centered around the device. In 2002, resident Andre McCollins was tied to a restraint board for seven hours and shocked 31 times after he didn't take off his jacket when told to.
When did metrazol shock therapy stop?
Beyond its terrifying experience, metrazol shock therapy also produced retrograde amnesia. Luckily, the Federal Drug Administration revoked metrazol’s approval in 1982, and this method of treatment for schizophrenia and depression disappeared in the 1950s, thanks to electroconvulsive shock therapy.
What were the mechanical restraints used in asylums?
Asylums also relied heavily on mechanical restraints, using straight jackets, manacles, waistcoats, and leather wristlets, sometimes for hours or days at a time. Doctors claimed restraints kept patients safe, but as asylums filled up, the use of physical restraint was more a means of controlling overcrowded institutions.
What is the best treatment for manic episodes?
Hydrotherapy proved to be a popular technique. Warm, or more commonly, cold water, allegedly reduced agitation, particularly for those experiencing manic episodes. People were either submerged in a bath for hours at a time, mummified in a wrapped “pack,” or sprayed with a deluge of shockingly cold water in showers.
What is the most infamous treatment for mental illness?
One of the most infamous treatments for mental illness includes electroconvulsive shock therapy. Types of non-convulsive electric shock therapy can be traced back as early as the 1st century A.D., when, according to de Young, “the malaise and headaches of the Roman emperor Claudius were treated by the application of a torpedo fish — better known as an electric ray — on his forehead.” But their heydey in treating mental illness began in 1938.
When did asylums become notorious warehouses?
While terrifying mental health remedies can be traced back to prehistoric times, it’s the dawn of the asylum era in the mid-1700s that marks a period of some of the most inhumane mental health treatments. This is when asylums themselves became notorious warehouses for the mentally ill.
When did mental health facilities close?
By 1994, that number decreased to just over 70,000. Starting in the 1960s, institutions were gradually closed and the care of mental illness was transferred largely to independent community centers as treatments became both more sophisticated and humane.
When was the first antipsychotic drug introduced?
In 1955, the year the first effective antipsychotic drug was introduced, there were more than 500,000 patients in asylums.
ECT’s Origins in The 1930s
Ect Used as A Threat in Hospitals in 1950s
- Many depictions of ECT in film and television have portrayed the therapy as an abusive form of control. Most famous is the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” in which an unruly patient is subjected to the procedure as a punishment. There is probably no fictional story that so haunts our consciousness of a medical treatment. “Cuckoo’s Nest,” and many other depictions, are sens…
The Rise of The Anti-Psychiatry Movement
- By the 1960s, the evidence that ECT was very effective for treating depression was robust. But there were also good reasons for patients to fear ECT. These reasons, combined with widespread revolts against authority and conformity that flourished in the 1960s, also gave rise to a revolt against medical authority – the anti-psychiatry movement. In i...