Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) remains one of the most effective forms of neurostimulation for severe mental illness. Sound scientific research underpins contemporary practice challenging the complex history and stigma that surround this treatment. The Electroconvulsive Therapy Workbook integrates the history of ECT with major advances in practice, including ultrabrief ECT, in a hands-on workbook format. Novel forms of neurostimulation are reviewed, highlighting the future directions of practice in this exciting area. The book is also richly illustrated with historical and technical images and includes ‘clinical wisdom’ sections that provide the reader with clinical insights into ECT practice. Online eResources are also available, featuring a wide range of questions and answers related to each chapter to help test and consolidate readers’ understanding of ECT, as well as regionally specific legislation governing ECT practice in Australia and New Zealand. This comprehensive introduction to ECT is a must-read for doctors in training, psychiatrists who require credentialing in this procedure, anaesthetists, nursing staff who work in ECT and other professionals who have an interest in ECT as well as consumer and carer networks.

Increasingly, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is recognized as a proven, effective, and even life-saving intervention in certain mood and thought disorders when other treatments have had little or no effect. Despite the proven efficacy and safety of this standard treatment in psychiatry, its availability is variable. Part of this disparity in access is related to misunderstanding by laypersons regarding the treatment and its potential adverse effects. Adequate education and training of psychiatrists and their support staff are essential to ensuring patients' access to this vital treatment tool. The authors of Clinical Manual of Electroconvulsive Therapy offer this expansive yet reader-friendly volume to help psychiatrists successfully incorporate ECT into their clinical practices. It is also a valuable resource for medical students and psychiatric residents, as well as experienced clinicians and researchers. The book updates the 1985 original and 1998 second edition of Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Programmed Text, and provides readers with a scheduled approach to understanding the fundamental concepts of ECT while offering practical guidance for establishing and maintaining an ECT program. Topics include the history of ECT, indications for use, patient referral and evaluation, the basics of ECT, clinical applications, anesthetics and other medications, seizure monitoring and management, ictal motor and cardiovascular response, adverse effects, and maintenance ECT. Included are detailed descriptions of recent advances including ultra-brief pulse ECT, oxygenation, muscle relaxation, and other modifications that have made this very effective treatment much safer and more acceptable to patients. Currently, it is estimated that more than 100,000 people receive ECT treatments each year in the U.S. Indications for use of ECT are for mood disorders such as major depressive disorder and mania, and thought disorders including schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Indications for use in other psychiatric disorders and general medical disorders such as Parkinson's disease, which appears to respond especially well to ECT, are reviewed as well. This highly-readable manual is a must-have for the library of any clinician interested in or currently practicing ECT: Provides background information on the origins of psychiatric treatments preceding ECT, including efforts using hydrotherapy and insulin comas Includes an algorithm for the management of ECT seizure adequacy Discusses contraindications as well as the potential adverse effects of ECT, including cognitive changes and cardiovascular complications Provides specific information about ECT device manufacturers, reprintable patient information sheets, and a written informed consent form This clinical manual comprehensively explores and explains the available knowledge regarding ECT -- based on extensive research over the past 70 years -- in order to help potential ECT clinicians make informed choices about the development and management of their ECT program.

The fourth edition of this popular Handbook provides the latest guidance on prescribing and administering electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Leading researchers and practitioners review new research on ECT and related treatments, including their efficacy in children and adolescents, and in those with bipolar disorder and neurological conditions. With a focus on safe provision and minimisation of side effects, it provides the reader with practical, evidence-based advice. The book has been substantially revised: references have been updated throughout; related treatment modalities such as rTMS, tCDS and ketamine are covered in greater depth; and current administrative and legal framework guidelines are clearly outlined. An essential reference manual for consultant and trainee clinical psychiatrists, as well as ECT practitioners. This guide will benefit clinical teams looking after complex cases of depression, as well as those involved in the care of other people for whom ECT may be recommended.

Enthusiastically defending the controversial use of electroconvulsive "therapy" (ECT), Abrams (psychiatry, Chicago Medical School), the director of a firm that manufactures ECT devices, reviews the practice and its literature. He briefly discusses the history of ECT and then outlines current practice and addresses the use of unilateral versus bitemporal ECT. He argues against the studies that find ECT to be a dangerous and unhelpful procedure. A final chapter considers ethical and legal issues, finding that doctors who refuse to subject patients to electroshock are behaving unethically and that malpractice suits are a relatively minor problem. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Even with the rise of newer neuropsychiatric brain stimulation methods, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains a widely used treatment for severe mental illness--and perhaps the most effective for serious mental illness. Optimal treatment requires that psychiatrists be skilled in diagnosis and familiar with the techniques of treatment. That's where Principles and Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy comes in. With its up-to-date, comprehensive coverage of all aspects of ECT, this is an unrivaled resource for psychiatrists, whether in practice or still in training, striving for maximum treatment efficacy. The book begins with an overview of what ECT is and how it is carried out, followed by a brief history of the therapy, from its earliest applications to its use in modern times. The guide follows the typical course of treatment, discussing the following: - Understanding the indications for ECT and selecting patients who might benefit from this therapy--whether they suffer from depression, mania, schizophrenia, or catatonia- Educating patients and their families on ECT and obtaining patient consent- Conducting a pretreatment medical evaluation and understanding the role of anesthesia- Managing an individual ECT treatment, including choosing the electrical stimulus dose and parameter combination, delivering the electrical stimulus, assisting with recovery problems, etc.- Overseeing the course of treatments, particularly for practitioners not personally conducting the treatments- Managing patients after a course of treatments and preventing relapse- Assessing and managing the memory side effects of ECT The final chapter examines other neuropsychiatric stimulation therapies in relation to ECT and explains how to choose among them. All chapters conclude with easily referenced key points that summarize the most salient ideas. Readers seeking to further educate themselves on ECT will also benefit from the exhaustive reference list. Though particularly useful for psychiatrists and psychiatric residents, Principles and Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy, with its straightforward style, is a ready resource for any mental health or medical professionals interested in ECT.

Since the development of pharmacoconvulsive therapy in 1934 and of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in 1938, ECT has proven far more valuable than just the intervention of last resort. In comparison with psychotropic medications, we now know that ECT can act more effectively and more rapidly, with substantial clinical improvement that is often seen after only a few treatments. This is especially true for severely ill patients -- those with severe major depression with psychotic features, acute mania with psychotic features, or catatonia. For patients who are physically debilitated, elderly, or pregnant, ECT is also safer than psychotropic medications. The findings of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Task Force on ECT were published by the APA in 1990 as the first edition of The Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy, inaugurating the development of ECT guidelines by groups both within the United States and internationally. Since then, advances in the use of this technically demanding treatment prompted the APA to mandate a second edition. The updated format of this second edition presents background information followed by a summary of applicable recommendations for each chapter. This close integration of the recommendations with their justifications makes the material easy to read, understand, and use. To further enhance usability, recommendations critical to the safe, effective delivery of treatment are marked with the designation "should" to distinguish them from recommendations that are advisable but nonessential (with the designations "encouraged," "suggested," "considered"). The updated content of this second edition, which spans indication for use of ECT, patient evaluation, side effects, concurrent medications, consent procedures (with sample consent forms and patient information booklet), staffing, treatment administration, monitoring of outcome, management of patients following ECT, and documentation, as well as education, and clinical privileging. This volume reflects not only the wide expertise of its contributors, but also involved solicitation of input from a variety of other sources, including applicable medical professional organizations, individual experts in relevant fields, regulatory bodies, and major lay mental health organizations. In addition, the bibliography of this second edition is based upon an exhaustive search of the clinical ECT literature over the past decade and contains more than four times the original number of citations. Complemented by extensive annotations and useful appendixes, this remarkably comprehensive yet practical overview will prove an invaluable resource for practitioners and trainees in psychiatry and related disciplines.

Few mental illness treatments are more reviled in the public mind than Electroconvulsive Shock Therapy. However, in reality, ECT is a safe and effective treatment for cases of clinical depression and catatonia that are unresponsive to drug therapy. Also, unlike drugs, ECT has relatively few side effects. The authors argue that it is time for this historically stigmatized procedure to be reevaluated. The authors make a strong case for greater professional and public attention to the procedure's benefits, offering historical coverage of ECT-related movements, legislation, public and practitioner sentiment and the introduction of competing treatments. This volume will not only garner the interest of mental health professionals, but will call on policy makers and ethicists to examine its arguments.