The healing power of ECT

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) carries stigma thanks to negative portrayals in movies like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Such portrayals hide ECT's true value — and the truth about the treatment: ECT has a decades-long track record of safety, and it offers a fast-acting solution for difficult-to-treat severe depression. ECT is also effective for patients with suicidal ideation or depression with psychosis or catatonia, says Sohag Sanghani, MD. He joins Sandra Lindsay, RN, and Rob Hoell to dispel myths and misunderstandings around ECT. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, the director of the ECT service at Zucker Hillside Hospital — which was among the first few in the US to ever use ECT in 1941 — explains how ECT works, who benefits from the treatment and how it changes lives.

Podcast transcript

Chapters:

• 00:01 - Intro
• 01:33 - ECT patient perspective
• 03:36 - What is ECT?
• 04:49 - What happens during ECT?
• 06:10 - Evolution of ECT
• 07:11 - Who gets ECT?
• 08:26 - Is ECT more effective than medications?
• 10:20 - Continuation ECT
• 11:38 - ECT's impact on patients
• 12:34 - What makes ECT so effective?
• 14:48 - ECT side effects
• 17:56 - Life after ECT treatment

More from Northwell Health:

• Learn about ECT from the patient's perspective.
• The healing power of vagus nerve stimulation