The recommendation to a family to consider electroshock for a patient with mental illness arouses great concern, especially when it is made after many unsuccessful attempts with medicines. The case is seen as hopeless. Everyone has heard stories about abuses, risks, and memory loss in electroshock. The films One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Snake Pit , and public attacks and distorted reporting in the media have so stigmatized its image so badly that patients, their families, and even professional consultants recoil from the recommendation. The facts about it's safety and benefits are otherwise.
Electroshock is a highly effective treatment, at times life-saving.
It is a safe treatment. It is under-utilized because its public and professional image is so poor that few practitioners are skilled in its use, and its application is poorly compensated for the professional time involved. I often receive calls for advice. New additions of a book appear at intervals of many years. This web site will keep readers current with changes in practice.