ElectroConvulsive Therapy (ECT) consists of passing an electric current at high voltage through the brain with the intention of producing an epileptic convulsion purportedly to relieve ‘mental illness’ and Parkinson’s disease.
Resulting convulsions are strong enough to break bones. 70% of these treatments are done to women and in the state of Oregon to children as young as twelve years of age. ECT can result in permanent extensive long term memory loss, short term memory loss, cognitive loss, and loss of talents. In psychiatry it is known as the “taming effect”. These “side-effects” are not secondary to anesthesia, but to brain injury.
It is a billion dollar a year industry to participating facilities in insurance reimbursements and research grants. Electroshock is performed in teaching hospitals, some private facilities, and at Kaiser Permanente. It is no longer used as a last resort, but is instead a treatment of convenience and is cost effective. The FDA has never required pre-market approval to affirmatively demonstrate a reasonable assurance of safety or effectiveness. Patients are not fully informed about the procedure’s harmful after-effects.
Many ECT survivors feel it is abusive in nature and often report feeling violated. In retrospect many often state the results of ECT has only added to their initial problems.