Using Electroconvulsive Therapy

In recent years decent society has been bombarded with images of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan showing private parts to the national media, going on drug and alcohol fueled rampages, using inordinate police, fire and medical resources an tying up valuable court docket space for purposes related solely to their egos. It is the contention of the author that due to the socioeconomic situations unique to the above stated celebrities that the motivations within our struggling judicial systems will not correct the subject’s behavior. The author believes that electroconvulsive therapy, either voluntary or involuntary is the only suitable treatment for such issues.

For purposes of this writing the subject’s have three distinctive similarities: The first of the issues deals with exposing their genitalia in a reckless manner. The second of the issues deals with the subjects’ inability or unwillingness to avoid large amounts of intoxicants. The third issue is the subjects’ inability to take personal responsibility for their actions, and might be in imminent danger and/or endangering others.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock, is a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Today, ECT is most often used as a treatment for severe major depression which has not responded to other treatment, and is also used in the treatment of mania. It first gained widespread use as a form of treatment in the 1940s and 50s; today, an estimated 1 million people worldwide receive ECT every year. Involuntary treatment is uncommon in countries that follow contemporary standards and is typically only used when the use of ECT is considered potentially life saving.

ECT is used predominantly as a treatment for severe depression. It is generally reserved for use as a second-line treatment for patients who have not responded to drugs. The first-line use of treatment is for situations where immediate clinical intervention is needed or alternative treatments are not advisable. About seventy percent of ECT patients are women.

In the US the Surgeon General's report on mental health summarized current psychiatric opinion about the effectiveness of ECT. It stated that both clinical experience and controlled trials had determined ECT to be effective (with an average 60 to 70 percent response rate) in the treatment of severe depression, some acute psychotic states, and mania. Its effectiveness had not been demonstrated in dysthymia, substance abuse, anxiety, or personality disorder. The report stated that ECT does not have a long-term protective effect against suicide and should be regarded as a short-term treatment for an acute episode of illness, to be followed by continuation therapy in the form of drug treatment or further ECT at weekly to monthly intervals.

The physical risks of ECT are similar to those of brief general anesthesia; the United States' Surgeon General's report says that there are "no absolute health contraindications" to its use. In England and Wales the Mental Health Act 1983 currently allows the use of ECT on detained patients (with and without capacity) if the treatment is likely to alleviate or prevent deterioration in a condition and is authorized by a psychiatrist from the Mental Health Act Commission's panel. However, proposed amendments to the Mental Health Act (clause 30) will introduce a capacity-threshold for the imposition of ECT. This in