Psychology: ECT Therapy

John has suffered from chronic depression. He often reports feeling lethargic, unwilling to engage in activities and often feels low. He denies having suicidal ideation. He has been on a variety of anti depressants and SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) however these have only provided short term relief. After seeing his doctor he was prescribed three new medications.
Two weeks later John returned complaining of little relief and still feeling, anxious and suffering from anhedonia. He reported having some suicidal thoughts. He was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. The doctor increased the dosage on the medication he was taking and added a MAO inhibitor and anticonvulsant to help with his reported poor concentration. The idea of Electro-Convulsive Therapy was also discussed. ECT consists of applying a weak electrical current to the frontal-temporal region of the skull to induce a seizure. At this stage John opted for the medication.
Two months later John reported a relapse of his Major Depressive Disorder over Christmas, lacking motivation, concentration and poor short term memory. He felt irritable and had trouble sleeping. He reported having some suicidal thoughts although the doctor concluded his ideation was not high risk. He agreed to undergo ECT as an outpatient as he was physically well and did not suffer from high suicidal ideation and was an intelligent man.
ECT is usually administered to patients as part of inpatient treatment and psychotherapy is a preferred method to treat outpatients. John had not been registered for any sort of therapy. ECT is not a recognised treatment for outpatients and is used very little. In some centres it is considered an illegal practice.