Electroconvulsive Therapy

Research Paper # 56276

Psychology > Experimental
Psychology > History of Psychology
Psychology > Therapies

An analysis of the scientific and social issues regarding electroconvulsive therapy.

3,475 words () | 6 sources | MLA | 2004 Canada

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the history of electroconvulsive therapy. The paper discusses the original favor it enjoyed within the psychiatric community and explores the eventual stigma it experienced as the result of unethical practices. The paper discusses its replacement with pharmaceuticals. The paper outlines the renewed interest in the practice and describes the developments that have made it safer and more ethical.

From the Paper:

"So the main problems were that the practice represented risk to physical health due to the violent nature of the spasms, and the fact that these risks were often accepted by doctors and professionals without the consent of mental patients. The ethical implications for this are evident, as those who were suffering from mental illness were denied the same rights that would be afforded any other citizen in such a situation. They did not choose whether or not they accepted the side effect of memory loss, or the risk of breaking a limb or experiencing an aftershock. These choices were made for them by doctors who today would be unable in our society to administer such risky techniques to anyone without their consent or the consent of their legal caregivers."