Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) remains the gold standard of treatment for severe, medication-resistant depression. Recent advances in technology have improved the safety and tolerability of the procedure. ECT is used to treat mental illness via the application of a controlled electrical stimulus to the scalp which induces a brief generalized seizure in the brain. This seizure activity brings about certain biochemical changes which may cause symptoms to diminish or to even disappear. The therapy is administered in a hospital room with the patient under general anesthesia. ECT is most commonly used to treat severe depression in patients that are unresponsive to other forms of treatment or in patients in whom it is dangerous to wait for medications to take effect. Less often it may be used for patients with treatment resistant schizophrenia or mania. A 60-minute consultation visit will consist of a comprehensive evaluation of prior medical history. If ECT is deemed appropriate, index treatment sessions will be scheduled three times a week and will transition to maintenance treatment sessions which begin at weekly or monthly sessions; length is based on treatment plan.

Electroconvulsive Treatment

ECT Treatment

• Treatment Resistant Unipolar and Bipolar Depression
• Catatonia
• Schizophrenia
• Patients with 3 Failed Medication or Medical Trials