Shocked: Insider stories about electroconvulsive therapy

by George Kirov

ECT, Electroconvulsive or Electroshock therapy, is easily the most controversial treatment in psychiatry. It is given to the most severely ill patients and often achieves startling cures where other treatments have failed. More than half of the patients reach remission within 12 ECT sessions. Behind this dry, anonymous statistic are personal and dramatic stories. Psychiatrist Professor George Kirov shares some of the more unusual and complex cases featuring patients who received this treatment in his clinic. Some were tormented by delusions, some nearly died through suicide attempts or food refusal; a few were written off as hopeless before being given ECT. The reader is not spared the complications that this treatment can involve, such as memory problems and arrhythmias. The stories described here are real, stories of suffering, mental anguish, and triumph.

Genres: Psychology

263 pages, Paperback

Published April 24, 2020

Reviews

[Laura Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant introduction read about the controversial therapy of ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) based at my little hostipal of Llandough. Personally as a mental health nurse and someone who has witnessed ECT, as a last treatment, it simply saves lives. Severely mentally ill patients who have not responded to any other treatment are able to live 'normal' lives thanks to this treatment. I would recommend you to read this book - whatever side of the fence you sit on

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

For such a heavy topic, this is an easy read. Case studies humanise the stories. As someone looking into maybe having ECT in the future, this was exactly what I was looking for in a book about ECT. Written by a psychiatrist and based on real patients, this describes the good, the risk, the outcomes in a story telling form rather than a scientific manual type book. Highly recommended.