Electroconvulsive therapy facts for kids

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also called electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are caused by electricity in unconscious patients to treat illness.

The process is completed by placing electrodes on the sides of the patient's head (on either both or just one side) and sending a small electric current through the brain. This lasts for about half a second. The patient is also made unconscious before the treatment for safety reasons.

It is used mainly for people suffering from depression. It is generally only used when anti-depressant drugs have had no effect.

Images for kids

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  ECT device produced by Siemens and used for example at the Asyl psychiatric hospital in Kristiansand, Norway from the 1960s to the 1980s

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  ECT machine from before 1960.

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  A Bergonic chair, a device "for giving general electric treatment for psychological effect, in psycho-neurotic cases", according to original photo description. World War I era.

See also

In Spanish: Terapia electroconvulsiva para niños