Electroconvulsive therapy, also referred to as ECT, has been used as a treatment for the psychological disorder schizophrenia for the last century. In the later part of the 20th century, the use of ECT for treatment of schizophrenia has been a frequent topic of debate. It has been a topic of debate because of the side effects that patients have been shown to exhibit after receiving the treatment, mainly memory impairment. Several studies over the last century have shown an adverse effect on memory, as the patients are shown to have suffered severe memory loss, as a result of the ECT.
Electroconvulsive therapy refers to inducing a seizure by means of an electrical stimulus shock via electrodes applied to the scalp (Tharyan and Adams, 2009). …show more content…
He writes about Miller (1953), Naidoo (1956), Childers (1964), Rahman (1968) and Taylor (1981). Miller and Naidoo found no alteration between ECT and its effect on schizophrenic symptoms, while Rahman says that using both drugs and ECT is more ideal than using either one on its own. Taylor wrote that no studies clearly show whether ECT works on schizophrenia or not. In accompaniment with this evidence against the theory of ECT used on schizophrenics, many professionals also fence-sit on the issue, making some of the evidence rather ambiguous. Johns and Thompson also write of Christison et al. (1991), who concluded that ECT is likely to have more of an effect on those with catatonia or those who experience catatonia for a short amount of time. This also indicates that, in chronic illness, ECT on its own rarely yields any significant effects. May and Tuma (1965) also showed that drugs work better than ECT in the short term, however, patients prescribed both ECT and drugs are in the hospital for a short amount of time or have shorter hospitalisation periods after their initial release. A body of work by various professionals, for instance, Rahman, Childers and Therrien (1961), Friedel (1986), suggests that a great many patients, whose schizophrenia cannot be treated with medication, are better when they are treated with antipsychotic …show more content…
Donahue from Vermont, USA, underwent ECT treatment in 1995 and 1996 and was aware of the ill reputation preceding ECT, especially with regards to the huge risk of memory loss. The treatment was presented to her as low-risk and uncomplicated, with only short-term memory loss as a risk factor and the doctors told her she would most likely recover her memory within six months. Later, she notes that she had, in fact, “experienced significant and long-term impairment” (Donahue, 2000). While conducting her own research into her own experience, Donahue discovered the discrepancies that have haunted ECT for the past century and came to the conclusion that “this lingering feeling of abandonment of care by the psychiatric profession… is strongly related to the part of me that still feels so damaged by my memory loss”. Anne Donahue’s case serves to demonstrate how memory loss, as a result of ECT, can permanently affect patients’ lives and also why electroconvulsive therapy still receives a bad name, why people shy away from using it and why the use of it has been so fervently discussed for the past century.
The feedback from the peer review stated that the information was vast and relevant, with a good introduction to the topic and the key concepts defined in great detail, as well as the history of ECT and schizophrenia. One aspect that was commented on was the need to add some information about the weaknesses in the theory, so a case study was added to apply the main side effect
Electroconvulsive therapy refers to inducing a seizure by means of an electrical stimulus shock via electrodes applied to the scalp (Tharyan and Adams, 2009). …show more content…
He writes about Miller (1953), Naidoo (1956), Childers (1964), Rahman (1968) and Taylor (1981). Miller and Naidoo found no alteration between ECT and its effect on schizophrenic symptoms, while Rahman says that using both drugs and ECT is more ideal than using either one on its own. Taylor wrote that no studies clearly show whether ECT works on schizophrenia or not. In accompaniment with this evidence against the theory of ECT used on schizophrenics, many professionals also fence-sit on the issue, making some of the evidence rather ambiguous. Johns and Thompson also write of Christison et al. (1991), who concluded that ECT is likely to have more of an effect on those with catatonia or those who experience catatonia for a short amount of time. This also indicates that, in chronic illness, ECT on its own rarely yields any significant effects. May and Tuma (1965) also showed that drugs work better than ECT in the short term, however, patients prescribed both ECT and drugs are in the hospital for a short amount of time or have shorter hospitalisation periods after their initial release. A body of work by various professionals, for instance, Rahman, Childers and Therrien (1961), Friedel (1986), suggests that a great many patients, whose schizophrenia cannot be treated with medication, are better when they are treated with antipsychotic …show more content…
Donahue from Vermont, USA, underwent ECT treatment in 1995 and 1996 and was aware of the ill reputation preceding ECT, especially with regards to the huge risk of memory loss. The treatment was presented to her as low-risk and uncomplicated, with only short-term memory loss as a risk factor and the doctors told her she would most likely recover her memory within six months. Later, she notes that she had, in fact, “experienced significant and long-term impairment” (Donahue, 2000). While conducting her own research into her own experience, Donahue discovered the discrepancies that have haunted ECT for the past century and came to the conclusion that “this lingering feeling of abandonment of care by the psychiatric profession… is strongly related to the part of me that still feels so damaged by my memory loss”. Anne Donahue’s case serves to demonstrate how memory loss, as a result of ECT, can permanently affect patients’ lives and also why electroconvulsive therapy still receives a bad name, why people shy away from using it and why the use of it has been so fervently discussed for the past century.
The feedback from the peer review stated that the information was vast and relevant, with a good introduction to the topic and the key concepts defined in great detail, as well as the history of ECT and schizophrenia. One aspect that was commented on was the need to add some information about the weaknesses in the theory, so a case study was added to apply the main side effect