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Subjective experience of electroconvulsive therapy

Consultant Psychiatrist, Wolverhampton City Primary Care Trust and Professor of Mental Health & Ageing, University of Wolverhampton, Penn Hospital, Penn Road, Wolverhampton WV4 5HN. E-mail: susan.benbow{at}wiv.ac.uk

Joe Crentsil

ECT Manager & Education and Training Coordinator, Edale Unit, Manchester Royal Infirmary

AIMS AND METHOD

People receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in one clinic completed side-effect rating questionnaires during treatment, and a questionnaire rating their experience of different aspects of treatment on completion of the treatment course.

RESULTS

Side-effects were commonly reported, but predominantly rated as mild or moderate. Most people reported that ECT had made them a little or a lot better, and that the treatment had been fairly or very well explained. Fewer than a fifth of respondents rated ECT as slightly or much worse than going to the dentist.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

We recommend routine monitoring of the subjective experience of ECT, during treatment and on completion of the course. Ratings should inform the treatment plan, the policies and procedures of the ECT clinic.

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