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An open letter to medical professionals

April 24, 2019 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

 

Deborah Schwartzkopff ECTJustice.com

When I went into nursing it was with the intention of working in the psychiatric field. It’s ironic now, given what later transpired. I also had a passion for emergency trauma nursing, and thought since they get a high population of mental health patients as well, it was the best of both worlds. I worked level one trauma mostly at facilities such as Denver General, St. Anthony’s in Denver, OHSU, Kaiser Permanente in Denver and others. I give this to you as I know I have nursing peers I worked with that are still around, and may help take issue with electroshock.

I remember some of being a nurse, when I was on the professional side of things.  And, I remember being a patient, impaired by toxic levels of psychiatric drugs and electroshock. On the professional side, around psychiatric patients were the “slurs” and innuendos when a mark was made on the triage board signifying a psychiatric client, and “who would take them?” It was interesting to me, because I knew many of my nursing peers (including myself) had experienced similar issues in one fashion or another.

Are we somehow different from the patient in room “A” whose circumstances have warranted a need for public help? I do not think people understand that based on a current crisis or short-term problem one can end up with a lifetime diagnosis, associated with drugs and possibly ECT. Doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, etc., you may hold a degree and carry a title, but you are still human, and are not immune to these life circumstances.

This brings me to what I wanted to talk about, and that is the rise in suicide among physicians. The rate is now 28 to 40 per 100,000, double that of the general population.1 That translates to one per day.  It is the highest suicide rate of any profession.

As a professional, to be given a psychiatric label, psychiatric drugs, or even ECT will impact your personal and professional career (if people find out). People say they are open and understand mental illness. But, once you have received a psychiatric diagnosis, people by nature, will treat and see you differently in some way. It may not necessarily be negative, but you as a person shift in others eyes.

Our current system has the mentality of “us and them”, verses a level playing field of ”we.” We are all in this together to varying degrees and life circumstances. You just haven’t been identified with some label that matches up with a drug in a clinical trial perhaps?  With a constantly growing list of diagnoses in the DSM, and a drug matched to each diagnosis, soon there will be something for everyone. We take on this new label as gospel. But it is based on reactions to circumstances that can vary day to day. And the diagnosis is based on a given doctor’s perception, that often varies doctor to doctor.

One recent study found 75% of med students and residents were on SSRIs or other antidepressants.2 Doctors could be having a rise in suicide if they are adversely responding to antidepressants which are known to increase or cause suicidal/homicidal ideation.3 They could also fear seeking assistance, because in receiving a diagnosis, they know full well it will impact their career, and how others perceive them. So, alone in their suffering they choose suicide.

Do you see the system you are actually encasing yourselves in now with your own peers? The line is a thin one.  One steps over, and though you carry a title and degree, you are still human and subject to human emotions and experiences. We may not yet fully understand and actually value nor utilize these states that I believe hold great potential and value.

I miss being a nurse. But I cannot understand how the healers I have admired and worked with can remain so silent and complicit around this, knowing full well of mechanism of injury outcomes. I recall once watching from the background, as a trauma was being worked.  I was moved to tears at the beauty of this dance taking place in an effort to save a patient. I was honored to be a part of their team.

I do not feel honored to have been part of it now, with denial of damages and the lack of response and assistance that all other traumatic brain injury survivors have at their disposal. My peers are committing suicide as a direct result not only of TBI outcomes, but because physicians write complaints off as psychiatric in order to protect a very faulty system. After such abuse at the hands of trusted providers, where does one turn for help?

Because everyone is afraid of lawsuits now, the patient suffers and symptoms are minimized or totally ignored. ECT survivors need extensive rehabilitation, but who will write the order listing the reason? Who is not afraid to take a stand as a physician with intent to warn, protect, and not cause harm? We are sorely in need of many now.

You all know full well these outcomes. But because we have a psychiatric history perhaps you feel you can minimize and look the other way? I don’t know. I know as a healer one should do their best to intervene where there is known harm. Your very own peers in medicine are at risk, and it seems many are choosing suicide as the current system keeps one bathed in shame and secrecy.

Based on a given day, with circumstances which may be acute and self-limiting, you are identified with a lifelong mental health label to follow you throughout your life. This is a shame to so limit a human being. I do not think the human SPIRIT will be contained nor identified this way for long. The current medical paradigm is failing. It feels as if a shift is happening in the crisis of the fallout of justice for electroshock patients.

My hope is for an entirely new perspective, a healing perspective where altered and extreme states are valued. Where power and responsibility are returned to the sovereign individual with assistance as needed, and in cooperation.

References

1 . “When doctors struggle with suicide”, National Public Radio, July 31, 2018, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/31/634217947/to-prevent-doctor-suicides-medical-industry-rethinks-how-doctors-work

2. Pamela Wible MD, “75% of med students are on antidepressants or stimulants (or both)”, Sep 4, 2016. https://www.idealmedicalcare.org/75-med-students-antidepressants-stimulants/

3. Peter C Gøtzsche , Professor, Nordic Cochrane Centre, “Antidepressants increase the risk of suicide, violence and homicide at all ages”, BMJ 2017;358:j3697, Sep 3, 2017. https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j3697/rr-4.

 

 

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: ECT SSRI suicide doctors

ECT has no place in modern medicine

October 15, 2018 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

A Mad in America podcast.

MIA Radio interviews Professor John Read and Doctor Sue Cunliffe, participants in the 57th Maudsley debate held at Kings College in London on September 19, 2018.  Being debated was the proposed motion,  “This house believes that ECT has no place in modern medicine”.

Professor. John Read

Professor Read has undertaken several scientific reviews of the literature supporting the use of ECT and Doctor Sue Cunliffe. Doctor Cunliffe was a paediatrician until she herself underwent ECT, after which she became cognitively impaired and found herself unable to continue working in medicine. She now campaigns for the risks of ECT to be made more explicit and to directly address the professional denial of the damage that ECT can cause.

Click the play button below to listen.  Visit MadinAmerica.com to read the accompanying article by James Moore, along with the debate notes of Professor Read and Dr. Cunliffe.

Filed Under: Articles

Justice for Victims of Electroconvulsive Trauma

August 24, 2018 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

Deborah Schwartzkopff
Deborah Schwartzkopff

I am Deborah Schwartzkopff, ECT survivor and founder of ECTJustice.com. I am interested in helping people that have been injured by electroshock to pursue medical malpractice suits or product liability suits.

I am not an attorney nor a para legal. But I have settled in three previous suits: a HIPPA suit, a discrimination suit, and a 2013 psychiatric medical malpractice suit.

I am offering my assistance if needed. You will be responsible for obtaining records needed to pursue this action.  I will not follow up with you until you have the information required to proceed.

To take advantage of this offer, follow the steps outlined below.  Your time to act is limited. See “Statutes of Limitations” below.

1. Fill out the ECT Questionnaire

You can find this on the ECTJustice.com website.

2. Establish extent of damages

Review this video on ECTJuctice.com before meeting with doctors This will help you to be able to discuss the mechanism of trauma in ECT if you run into difficulties in getting testing.

Print a copy of the letter from the help section of ECTJuctice.com (click here for printable PDF copy of letter). Sign and give a copy to your primary care physician to request the testing you will need to establish the extent of damages you sustained during your ECT sessions. Minimally, these three tests must be done:

  • Neurological/cognitive testing. Have this done by a TBI (traumatic brain injury) specialist,
  • EEG,
  • MRI.

If you have the resources, it would be best to additionally have a SPECT and functional MRI done at a teaching hospital.

Get copies of all tests put on a CD at the time of the test, and take it with you. This is the actual test itself. They are happy to give you copy. When you see a psychologist for neuro/cog testing, ask for a copy of test outcomes along with any corresponding number values assigned.

You have a right to all these records. If there are issues in getting testing please contact me. I cannot help with funding, but I may be able to help with other issues.

3. Obtain ECT medical records

Review the medical records page on ECTJustice.com. Read about starting a log at end of the page. This will help should you run into any resistance. Remember that you are entitled to these records by law.

Request your records, keeping a log of every interaction as noted. You do not need every record type listed on the webpage. But, you do need ALL anesthesia consents and ALL consents for electroshock.

If you had any testing prior to ECT, such as a sleep study, MRI, EEG, eye evaluation, or EKG, request those results as well, even if they tell you the results are normal. These will be used as comparisons to the new tests.

If you run into difficulties obtaining testing or records you may contact me. But please get as much in place as possible before doing so.

4. Find Representation

Once you have copies of your testing and records, contact me at Deborah@ectjustice.com, and we can talk about your situation and how to proceed. If you need help I will draft a request for representation using your information. You can then submit to law firms in your state.

It can take persistence to find representation. However, it can be done with minimal effort by email.  And, we do have some interested firms in place.

Statutes of Limitations

Your time to file a law suit is limited. Every state has its own time limits.* Note that these limitations generally do not apply to minors.

Listed below are time limits for each state. If you have three months or more (need minimum of 3 months to get things in place) from time of last shock and can get tests done and records retrieved, then I will try to assist you.

Below are the states and their time limits.  In some states, the statute of limitations varies depending on the type of injury or when the injury was discovered.  These times are for reference only, and are subject to change by each state.

State Statute of Limitation
Alabama 2 or 4 years
Alaska 2 years
Arizona 2 years
Arkansas 3 years
California 1 or 3 years
Colorado 2 years
Connecticut 2 or 3 years
D.C. 3 years
Delaware 2 years
Florida 2 or 4 years
Georgia 2 years
Hawaii 2 or 6 years
Idaho 2 years
Illinois 2 years
Indiana 2 years
Iowa 2 years
Kansas 2 years
Kentucky 1 year
Louisiana 1 year
Maine 3 years
Maryland 3 or 5 years
Massachusetts 3 years
Michigan 2 years
Minnesota 4 years
Mississippi 2 or 7 years
Missouri 2 or 10 years
Montana 3 years
Nebraska 2 years
Nevada 2 or 4 years
New Hampshire 3 years
New Jersey 2 years
New Mexico 3 years
New York 2 1/2 years
North Carolina 3 to 10 years
North Dakota 2 years
Ohio 1 or 4 years
Oklahoma 2 years
Oregon 2 years
Pennsylvania 2 years
Rhode Island 3 years
South Carolina 3 years
South Dakota 2 years
Tennessee 1 year
Texas 2 years
Utah 2 years
Vermont 3 years
Virginia 2 to 10 years
Washington 3 years
West Virginia 2 years
Wisconsin 3 years
Wyoming 2 years

*If you are outside of the USA I am also interested in assisting but you will have to review the time limits for your country. I will try to assist you but there are no promises in outcomes.

The California class action failed in the appeal process.  However, the DK Law firm is moving forward to represent clients who have sustained electroshock injury in California within the last two years. There are suits pending against the FDA around this issue as well.

Filed Under: Articles

The Electrical Abuse of Women: Does Anyone Care?

July 25, 2018 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

Dr Bruce Levine
Bruce Levine, PhD

Many Americans are unaware that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)—more commonly known as electroshock—continues to be widely utilized by U.S. psychiatry. In the current issue of the journal Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, psychologist John Read and co-author Chelsea Arnold note, “The archetypal ECT recipient remains, as it has for decades, a distressed woman more than 50 years old.”

In a comprehensive review of research on ECT, Read and Arnold report that there is “no evidence that ECT is more effective than placebo for depression reduction or suicide prevention.” They conclude, “Given the well-documented high risk of persistent memory dysfunction, the cost-benefit analysis for ECT remains so poor that its use cannot be scientifically, or ethically, justified.”

This begs the question of why this brain-damaging electrical abuse of predominantly middle-aged women, unlike the sexual abuse of younger women and girls, is not today addressed by most high-profile feminists…

Read full article  in CounterPunch.

Bruce E. Levine, a practicing clinical psychologist often at odds with the mainstream of his profession, writes and speaks about how society, culture, politics and psychology intersect. His most recent book is Resisting Illegitimate Authority: A Thinking Person’s Guide to Being an Anti-Authoritarian―Strategies, Tools, and Models(AK Press, September, 2018). His Web site is brucelevine.net

Filed Under: Articles

Electroshock revisited, with 3 survivors

June 28, 2018 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

KBOO radio host, Paul Roland, interviews electroshock survivor/activists Deborah Schartzkopff from ECTJustice.com, Mary Maddock, and Jane Rice.

Mary Maddock
Mary Maddock, MindFreedom Ireland cofounder

Mary Maddock received ECT without informed consent just 3 days after childbirth. The shock “treatments” continued over a period of 6 weeks. “All this time I was treated as a guinea pig while I was on umpteen nueroleptics and other psychotropic drugs – on and off them as if they were smarties. My memory was severely damaged both long and short term.” After freeing herself from psychiatric treatments in 2000, she joined MindFreedom International and cofounded MindFreedom Ireland.

Jane Rice is a childhood shock survivor. She writes about shock and other psychiatric atrocities on her website, LifeAfterECT.com.

Click here to read accompanying article on KBOO.FM.KBOO Radio

Click play button below to listen to program.

https://kboo.fm/sites/default/files/episode_audio/kboo_episode.2.180627.0800.4006.66162.mp3

 

 

Filed Under: Articles

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Static-Electricity "and the ashes will be blown away from the tops of their heads. It is edict! It is writ!"

Welcome

Welcome to the ECT survivors website.

News & Events

  • Don’t swallow everything you’re told as the truth May 22, 2019
  • Failure to speak out against ECT May 17, 2019
  • Family Secrets May 14, 2019
  • Stop Shocking and Torturing Women – Mad in America May 13, 2019
  • Lou Reed: That Which Does Not Kill Us Can Radicalize Us – Mad in America May 6, 2019
  • An open letter to medical professionals April 24, 2019

Pages

  • After care following electroshock
  • Be a Media Spokesperson for ECT Victims
  • Blog
  • Deborah Schwartzkopff on Electroshock
  • Dr. John Breeding Discusses ECT
  • ECT & Children
  • ECT & Informed Consent
  • ECT Destroys Lives
  • ECT Questionnaire
  • ECT Survivor Kenny on Life After Electroshock
  • ECT Survivor Mary Maddock’s story
  • ECT Survivor Stories
  • FDA’s 2011 Hearings on Reclassifying ECT
  • Info about ECT
  • Is Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Effective?
    by Philip Hickey, PhD
  • Medical Records
  • Neurologist John M. Friedberg on ECT
  • No One Should Be Given Shock Treatment
  • Peter Breggin, MD: Electroshock is Brain Trauma
  • Recommended Reading
  • Resources
  • Whistleblowers

About ECT Justice

ECT Justice was created to help advocate for ECT survivors and their families and to gather and disseminate information about known risks of ECT.  If you are an ECT survivor suffering from post-ECT cognitive deficiencies, please know you are not alone.  By sharing your issues, we are able to continue our efforts toward helping ensure that appropriate warnings of the potential risk of permanent injury gets provided to anyone considering ECT. Together we can make a difference.

Recent Posts

  • Don’t swallow everything you’re told as the truth May 22, 2019
  • Failure to speak out against ECT May 17, 2019
  • Family Secrets May 14, 2019
  • Stop Shocking and Torturing Women – Mad in America May 13, 2019
  • Lou Reed: That Which Does Not Kill Us Can Radicalize Us – Mad in America May 6, 2019
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