Electroshock Therapy

Electroshock therapy (ECT) has long suffered from a controversial and bizarre public image, a reputation that has effectively removed it as a treatment option for many patients. In Electroshock, Max Fink, M.D., draws on 45 years of clinical and research experience to argue that ECT is now a safe, effective, painless, and sometimes life-saving treatment for emotional and mental disorders. Dr. Fink discusses the development of ECT from its discovery in 1934, its acceptance and widespread use for two decades until it was largely replaced by the introduction of psychotropic drugs in the 1950s, and its revival in the past twenty years as a viable treatment now that undesirable side-effects have been largely removed. He provides case studies of actual patients and the testimonies of their family members to illuminate successful responses. Many disorders, such as depression, mania, catatonia, and schizophrenia, respond well to ECT. We learn what the patient experiences, as the author explains the whole procedure from preparation to recovery. He also shows how anesthesia and muscle relaxation have refined ECT, minimizing discomfort and reducing its risks to a level far lower than many of the psychotropic drugs routinely prescribed for the same problems. An excellent sourcebook for patients, their families, caretakers, and mental health professionals, Electroshock clarifies misconceptions about ECT. For those who suffer from mental and emotional disorders, it offers a safe and highly effective treatment.

The history of electroshock in the United States in three historic stages is chronicled as it alternated from an enthusiastic reception in 1940, to a period of crisis in the 1960s, to its resurgence after 1980. Early American experiments with electrical medicine are also examined, while the development of electroshock in America is considered through the lens of social, political, and economic factors, as is the revival of electroshock in recent decades.

In an attempt to explore the explanations why psychiatrists continue to use electroshock with minors already at risk from damage, this text investigates reasons why electroshock remains popular, despite the widespread availability of proven psychosocial alternatives. The text locates all of the literature since the 1940s about the use of electroshock with minors from three years of age through adolescence.

This study presents an overview of the relationship between biomedical policy and mental health.

This international handbook is the first to analyze mental health policies systematically across a variety of both developed and developing countries. Mental health and public policy experts survey current policies, the public policy process, and critical issues in twenty countries that are representative of different problems. The work considers the treatment of the mentally ill and mentally retarded, mentally disordered offenses, questions of substance abuse, deinstitutionalization, funding, and consumer rights. This major reference, with its comprehensive and comparative survey, is designed for scholars, students, and professionals who deal with mental health and public policy issues.