ECT and Mental Health Law in India: "Viewpoint" in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine

 Out on PubMed, from Indian authors, is this "viewpoint":

Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Closer Look into Legal Provisions in the MHCA, 2017.

Narayan CL, Deepanshu M.Indian J Psychol Med. 2022 May;44(3):293-296. doi: 10.1177/02537176221077309. Epub 2022 May 1.PMID: 35656437




The article is here.

And from the text:


While the specific details of Indian mental health law may not be of great interest to non-Indian psychiatrists, it is worth knowing about the general issues described in this commentary. The authors make very reasonable suggestions about simplifying the Mental Health care Act (MHCA) such that ECT can be provided in emergencies and in appropriate outpatient settings.
One important reminder that comes from reading this piece is that the WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights, and Legislation has some very inappropriate  and denigrating comments about ECT.
I hope blog readers will take the ~ 10 minutes to read this piece in full and think about the ramifications of restrictive ECT legislation.



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