Adam, a schizophrenic, had just been transferred to Long Island's Pilgrim Psychiatric Center and officials there were adamant that they knew what was best for him. She says the electroshock treatments, which began four months ago, not only didn't help his condition one bit - they turned him into a virtual zombie. Her family has been battling Pilgrim in the courts and recently got a temporary reprieve when a judge issued a temporary restraining order barring more treatments for Adam. I think they know some clients are very much afraid of it, opposed to it, and that deference to the client's wishes is not given. Szyszko is among four patients at state facilities suing the state Office of Mental Health to bar involuntary electroshock treatments.
Mental patients can voluntarily get electroshocks if they sign a consent form.
If they don't, a hospital needs a judge's order before administering it. And the hospital usually has no trouble getting a judge to agree. Feld also represents Paul Henri Thomas, whose electroshock treatment at Pilgrim over the past two years has galvanized advocacy groups across the country. The groups charge that the hospital is purposely punishing the Haitian immigrant. During a competency hearing yesterday before Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Bromley Hall, Thomas, a schizophrenic, testified on his own behalf to prove he was coherent enough to refuse electroshock treatment.