Summarize the contents of your article. In 1995 a Louisiana statewide project was performed for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as a mental health quality improvement project. The evaluators observed the high concurrent utilization of lithium and benzodiazepines and the face validity issues. Health Care Financing Administration (HFCA) of Louisiana contracted with the state peer-review organizations (PRO) to complete an evaluation that would address the issues pertaining to the application of clinical guidelines. After PRO reviewed the use of lithium and benzodiazepines they provided clinics with task force recommendations and clinical guidelines. The creation was through a collaboration of mental health quality improvement projects that would assist the practice between a patient and a clinic. The guidelines covered the best approaches for caring for patients based on benefits, risks, and cost of the clinical systems. The issues addressed promoted clinics to create clinical guidelines by using data to evaluate the face validity of their practice and to develop a clinical guideline. Definitions: Electroconvulsive therapy- is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental illnesses ("Lithium, benzodiazepines," 1992) Lithium- is used to treat the manic episodes of manic
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was developed in the 1930s and is the most effective treatment for Schizophrenia.
Still today it is not known why ECT works but it seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental illnesses. It is also said that the shock literally shocks the person out of their illness as it is regarded as a punishment for the inappropriate behaviour. Another explanation is that the associated memory loss following shock allows the person to start afresh. They literally ‘forget’ they were suffering from a mental illness. Created in +1934 by Hungarian neuropsychiatrist Ladislas Meduna, [11]. However, ECT was not introduced in England until 1939 when Lothar Kalinowsky, observed the treatment administered in Italy and decided to use it in England due to its promising results. During this time high doses of electricity were administered without anaesthesia and muscle relaxations. This lead to memory loss, fractured bones and other serious side effects, which lead to, much of the stigma attached to ECT, because of these early treatments [12]. ECT is a treatment that is still used today, however much less brutally than in the 1930s.
What remains unknown is why electroconvulsive therapy is effective. A plethora of studies show the neurochemical correlates of this treatment and its relation to the anti-depressant effect, yet none are conclusive. Richard Abrams has studied ECT for years and discusses a wide variety of reasons for its effectiveness in his revised edition of Electroconvulsive Therapy. For a person who has studied this treatment for 50 years, he concludes
As a counselor works with clients, one may have to work with a client that are taking psychotropic medication. A client named Kimberly disclosed in a session that she has Bipolar Disorder. She is a 19 year old African American woman. Kimberly has been experiencing symptoms of Bipolar Disorder for three years. Before beginning to take lithium, Kimberly has run away from home, displays erratic behaviors, has using marijuana to relieve symptoms, and attempting suicide when experiencing severe depression. Kimberly has also attempted suicide. Kimberly’s mental illness has affected her relationship with her mother and put a financial strain on the household. Kimberly was arrested and charged with the possession of marijuana.
ECT has become much safer than the dangerous past shown in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Electroconvulsive therapy has little resemblance to that depiction. ECT brings about fast results compared to some other medications and treatments. After the shock, there is immediate relief to the symptoms of many mental illnesses. The electric current only lasts for a few seconds and the seizure lasts for about a minute. Many medications take weeks to become effective and ECT is an ideal option for those people that need the relief right away. ECT has often worked when many other treatments have
Electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT, is a medical procedure that is used in the treatment of mental illness. In ECT, a small electrical impulse is sent through the brain, resulting in an ephemeral seizure. Though the process is generally effective, modern science is unaware of the explanation behind ECT's success. Its history is filled with a large amount of stigma and the use of ECT as a therapy is still debated today. ECT has evolved to a point where its beneficial effects can be maximized and its adverse effects can be minimized through proper administration.
After researching electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), I have decided that if a close family member or even myself were severely depressed I would not support the use of ECT. Electroconvulsive therapy consists of an electrical shock, which is used to produce a seizure. Many people experience seizures due to some other type of illness or illnesses, and in these cases there is medicine taken in order to prevent these occurrences. In deciding my opinion on the topic of ECT I asked myself would I want to put myself or a loved one through what others are trying to avoid; a seizure. Although ECT has proven to be effective in some cases of depression, it has many risk factors involved and it does not ensure a lifetime with out the reoccurrence of
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a treatment for severe mental illness in which the brain is stimulated with a strong electrical current which induces a seizure. The seizure rearranges the brain's neurochemistry and results in an elevation of mood. This essay asks: Is ECT any safer and more effective in treating mood disorders than drug therapies? This treatment has a controversial history ever since it was first introduced in 1938. I intend to argue that electroconvulsive therapy is indeed a safe treatment of mental disorders when other treatments have failed. Due to the development of safer and less traumatic ways of administering ECT,
Enhance the affinity of the recognition site for GABA by inducing conformational changes that make GABA binding more efficacious.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was introduced in the 1930’s at a time when no effective treatment for the severe mentally ill was known. Convulsive therapy, in the form of chemically induced seizures, was first tested in the 1930’s in patients with dementia praecox, a disorder that is now widely labeled as schizophrenia (Meduna 1935, 1937; Fink 1979).
Three cycles of electroconvulsive therapy were conducted out weekly. Mr S showed a significant improvement after six cycles of ECT. He no longer experienced auditory hallucination and delusion of grandiosity. However, he still had many ideas about his future, and wanted to look for volunteer posts. The doctor had interviewed him and decided to extend the ECT to a total nine cycles of electroconvulsive therapy. Meanwhile, psycho-education and family focused therapy were done in sessions.
The neurotransmitters are the chemicals that transfer messages between brain cells and with the therapy, it can make these chemicals function better. A lot of people were against electroshock therapy. In many psychiatric hospitals, ECT was used to control crazy patients. ECT was also used as punishment for some the misbehaving patients, which received many shocks each day (Sabbatini). Sabbatini continues on, writing that in the 1970’s, there were many movements against institutionalized psychiatry that started in Europe, and then moved to the United States.
seizure through controlled electric shock, under anesthesia. The process itself is under scrutiny because it is not entirely understood, which is main a reason why it is only considered in the direst of cases. ECT tends to have severe physical health risks and with the introduction of newer and less harmful antidepressant drugs, it is being used far less often (Comer, 2005). This new class of drugs includes three main types; monoamine oxidase (MAOI) inhibitors, tricyclics and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
What is Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation? Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation is the application of extremely low levels of electricity applied to the brain for the treatment of a wide range of psychiatric and medical disorders. [5] Implementing this treatment to the astronauts will provide a solution to sleep loss and other disorders that can be developed due to the isolation and confinement of space. Previous research done in the field of Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation have shown to treat disorders ranging from insomnia, anxiety, cognitive dysfunction, depression, stress, etc. Implementation of CES to astronauts will not only provide a solution to prevent performance errors but provided a long range of benefits to the well being of astronauts’.
For the purpose of this assignment the experience of attending Electro-Convulsive Therapy will be discussed. It will include rationale for the procedure, an account of the procedure and the student nurses reflection on the experience using Gibbs’ model of reflection (Jasper 2003). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a medical treatment for severe mental illness in which a small, carefully controlled amount of electricity is introduced into the brain. This electrical stimulation, used in conjunction with anaesthesia and muscle relaxant medications, produces a mild generalised seizure or convulsion (Mankad et al 2010).