Classics in ECT: "Effects of Electric Convulsion Therapy": Br Med J 1980

"Classics in ECT" brings you this anonymous commentary:Effects of electric convulsion therapy.
[No authors listed]Br Med J. 1980 Dec 13;281(6255):1588.PMID: 7448526 



The pdf is here.

The conclusion, "ECT remains a safe and effective treatment for this morbid melancholia," says it all.  Forty years later, this is a remarkably au courant assessment of ECT-it could have been written about the recently published revival of the "controversy" surrounding ECT. The summary of the patient attitudes studies by the late CP Freeman (with the famous, "less upsetting than a visit to the dentist") is a nice reminder of that work. Much of what this says about cognitive issues has been proven true in subsequent research.
I recommend a full read of this commentary by all ECT healthcare professionals, ~5 minutes.

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