Is Electrochemical Treatment Really Back?

Back in the ‘70s as a psychology major, I remember working in a psych ward with people who had “difficult” personalities or behaviors and had undergone frontal lobotomies and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).  It was considered barbaric and a desperate attempt to calm patients who were impossible to control.  So when I first heard about ECT being used to help severely autistic patients, a red flag went up.

My first thoughts took me back to the scene with Jack Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” when Nurse Ratchet managed patient care by using ECT or lobotomies.  Apparently, ECT today doesn’t involve convulsing patients tied to gurneys while electrical pulses “shock” them into subduction.  The new ECT is underwhelming because the patient is sedated and relaxed (not awake) and there is no pain associated with the treatment.

While the public immediately thinks “Cuckoo’s Nest” when they hear about ECT, over a million people EACH YEAR receive ECT and have benefitted from the treatment.  Psychiatrists recommend ECT for bipolar disorder and depression when patients haven’t responded well to anything else.  It’s kind of a last resort.  But recently, a few psychiatrists have found that ECT can calm the brains of severely autistic children – those who would hurt themselves if not restrained. So for now, ECT is a lifesaver for those children who might injure or kill themselves.

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