Shock Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness

by Edward Shorter, David Healy

Overview

 Edward Shorter and David Healy trace the controversial history of ECT and other "shock" therapies. Drawing on case studies, public debates, extensive interviews, and archival research, the authors expose the myths about ECT that have proliferated over the years. By showing ECT's often life-saving results, Shorter and Healy endorse a point of view that is hotly contested in professional circles and in public debates, but for the nearly half of all clinically depressed patients who do not respond to drugs, this book brings much needed hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813560526
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	01/18/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	398
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

EDWARD SHORTER is the Jason A. Hannah Chair of the History of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is the author of numerous books, including A History of Psychiatry and Before Prozac.

DAVID HEALY is a professor of psychiatry in the department of psychological medicine at Cardiff University and the author of numerous books, including Let Them Eat Prozac. He was secretary of the British Association for Psychopharmacology.

 

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xi

Chapter 1 The Penicillin of Psychiatry? 1

Chapter 2 "Some Experiments on the Biological Influencing of the Course of Schizophrenia" 9

Chapter 3 "Madness Cured with Electricity" 31

Chapter 4 From the University Clinic to the Psychiatric Institute: Shock Therapy Goes Global 49

Chapter 5 The Couch or the Treatment Table? 83

Chapter 6 "ECT Does Not Create Zombies" 103

Chapter 7 "They're Going to Fry Your Brains!" 142

Chapter 8 The End of "Bedlam" and the Age of Psychopharmacology 164

Chapter 9 The Swinging Pendulum: The Effects of Politics, Law, and Changes in Medical Culture on ECT 181

Chapter 10 Electrogirl and the New ECT 219

Chapter 11 Magnets and Implants: New Therapies for a New Century? 253

Chapter 12 Epilogue: Irrational Science 290

Notes 299

Index 363

Editorial Reviews

"Riveting. Apart from describing the origins and continuing evolution of convulsive therapy, the text provides an intimate 'behind the scenes' glimpse into the personalities, careers, and factors motivating the major players in the treatment's history. Shock Therapy is a highly readable...book that may pique the interest of child and adolescent psychiatrists in this and related treatment modalities."

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

"Shock Therapy is based on contemporary research that includes both manuscript and printed sources as well as interviews with individuals who have played key roles in the history of ECT. It is a controversial work, if only because its authors combine both historical analysis and advocacy. Nevertheless, the book—which includes discussions of such contemporary therapeutic innovations as VNS, DBS, and TMS—is a must-read and has relevance for those concerned with the treatment of mental disorders."

coauthor of The Dilemma of Federal Mental Health Policy: Radical Reform or Incr - Gerald N. Grob

"This book has groundbreaking potential, and its readability is strengthened by the use of many primary documents, including detailed journal entries and transcripts of interviews with the original scientists involved."

From the Publisher