Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

ECT is given in a fully equipped treatment room by a psychiatrist and an anaesthetist. Under brief general anaesthesia and a muscle relaxant, a short, controlled electrical stimulus is applied through electrodes on the head. It produces a brief seizure that the patient does not feel. The procedure itself takes a few minutes; the patient is then monitored until fully awake, usually within 15–20 minutes.

Who it is for

• Severe depression, including depression with psychotic features or depression that has not responded to medication
• Situations that need a rapid response, for example when a person has stopped eating or drinking
• Severe mania, catatonia and some forms of schizophrenia

Before treatment

A psychiatrist reviews whether ECT is the right treatment, and a physical check-up rules out conditions that would make anaesthesia or ECT unsafe. This usually includes blood tests and an ECG and, where needed, an EEG or brain imaging.

How many sessions

ECT is usually given two to three times a week. A course typically consists of 6 to 12 sessions, adjusted to the response. Medication or maintenance treatment usually continues afterwards to prevent relapse.

Side effects

Headache, muscle aches and brief confusion after waking are common and pass within hours. Some people have difficulty remembering events from around the time of treatment; this usually improves over the following weeks and months, although some memories from that period may not return. Serious complications are rare and are mainly related to anaesthesia.

ECT at NPİSTANBUL

Each course is planned and monitored by the treating psychiatrist together with the anaesthesia team. Treatment starts only after the benefits, risks and alternatives have been explained to the patient and, where appropriate, the family, and the patient has given consent.