If even a small minority of lives can be saved with the treatment, then access to ECT must be maintained. And if it helps others for whom medication and therapy leave them still feeling as if living with depression is akin to “existing as the walking dead”, then an outright ban must be resisted. As long as, where possible, the patient gives valid, fully informed consent, which includes a discussion of ECT’s side effects and risks, then the treatment must remain available.
In Today’s the Irish Times , Dr. Muiris Houston penned a column titled “ Why banning ECT would be a big mistake .”
Here’s an excerpt:
Read the entire column here.