Survey of families suggests high risks for electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which involves passing electricity through the brain under general anesthesia to cause a seizure, usually between six and twelve times, is used to varying degrees around the world for patients with depression and other mental conditions. A study in Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice reveals that the experiences of families and friends of individuals undergoing ECT challenge claims that the therapy is safe and effective.

In the survey-based study, respondents included 286 relatives and friends of ECT recipients from 22 countries. 45% reported improvement in the problem for which ECT was prescribed, but 42% said it made the problem worse. 61% thought ECT had made "overall quality of life" worse and 32% reported improvement. On measures of memory, most reported memory loss in their relative or friend, usually lasting more than three years. Other adverse effects from ECT reported by at least half of relatives/friends included difficulty concentrating, fatigue, emotional blunting, loss of independence, and relationship problems.

When asked, "Would you want to have ECT yourself, if a psychiatrist thought you needed it?" 72% said no.

The authors noted that the responses of relatives/friends were broadly similar to ECT recipients' survey responses, which were reported in seven previous papers. This validation of the patients' experiences is important, they added, because reports of adverse effects by patients themselves are sometimes dismissed as being caused by depression, not ECT.

Although this is not a randomized sample, it is the largest ever survey of relatives and friends of ECT recipients. The results-in conjunction with the reports of the ECT recipients themselves to our survey, along with previous research-confirm that applying electricity to the human brain in sufficient dosages to cause seizures is, unsurprisingly perhaps, a high-risk procedure with limited efficacy."

John Read, PhD, corresponding author, University of East London