Controversial remedy nonetheless used on 2,500 Brits a yr as survivor says it ‘felt like rape’
Electroshock therapy peaked in the 1940s and 1950s. But the controversial practice – with patients sometimes shocked while fully awake and without muscle relaxants – has not disappeared.
Today it is known as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and, according to independent research published by the British Psychological Society, around 2,500 people receive the treatment each year in the UK.
Nevertheless, new research has shown that women are being given ECT at far higher rates than men – and are more likely to suffer long-term memory loss and other harmful effects. One patient we spoke to even said she lost a whole year of her life.
Electro compulsive therapy device(Image: Getty Images)
For some survivors of sexual violence, whom are more likely to be treated with ECT, the therapy was described as “another kind of rape – but of the mind”. Lisa Morrison, from Belfast, is lead author of a new study into ECT.
As a rape survivor, she waived her right to anonymity to speak with us. She claimed that repeated inpatient admissions and treatment with psychiatric drugs and ECT left her “more and more unwell”.
“The many diagnoses I received reinforced in me the devastating messages so many women internalise – I’m to blame. I’m bad.
(From left to right): Lisa’s husband Gary, Lisa, and her “best medicine”, dog Dexter(Image:
Lisa Morrison)
“This is my shame,” she said. Lisa admitted how the treatment left her struggling with memory loss, losing a “whole year” of her life.
She said: “It was a few years after all the treatments ended that I realised significant chunks of my memory, especially of my children, were gone. It’s of my two-year-old son.
“I had a career break to look after him. I cannot remember doing this.
Lisa and Gary(Image: Lisa Morrison)
“A whole year of my life. And my daughter was only four at the time.
“Blank.” She added: “Realising I wasn’t told the truth, not offered appropriate alternatives and now living with the devastating consequences of this invasive treatment, does feel like another kind of rape.”
The study, Electroconvulsive therapy and women: an international survey, published in the August edition of Health Care for Women International, gathered responses from 858 people in 44 countries who had received ECT. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) were women, making it the largest survey of its kind.
Electric shock treatment, demonstrated at Patton State Hospital, near San Bernardino, California, in 1942
ECT is administered to around a million people every year worldwide. But the survey found women “fared worse on nearly every measure of outcome”, including lower rates of reported mood improvement and significantly higher reports of both short- and long-term memory loss.
Only 15% of women said they would undergo ECT again, compared with 29% of men. The researchers also found women were more likely to say they were given less information before treatment, faced greater pressure or coercion to consent, and were treated by predominantly male psychiatrists.
Globally, 81% of psychiatrists administering ECT were men. Some women described the experience as traumatic, with accounts including being held down and having the procedure “done to” them against their will, reawakening memories of past abuse and suffering lasting fear of future treatment.
Lisa, from Belfast, is lead author of a new study into ECT
Sarah Hancock, a co-author based in San Diego, added: “It is profoundly disorienting to have no frame of reference for daily interactions with family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, let alone erasing all education, work experience and cultural cues. Shared memories and life experiences are the foundation of relationships and identity.
“Erase them and I became a rudderless ship without an anchor.” She also cited warnings contained in a regulatory update to the Thymatron System IV instruction manual (the official user guide for the Thymatron System IV electroshock machine used by hospitals to deliver ECT) which states: “In rare cases, ECT may result in a dense and persistent retrograde amnesia extending to years…” and adds: “In rare cases, patients may experience permanent memory loss or permanent brain damage.”
Dr Lucy Johnstone, consultant clinical psychologist in Bristol, said: “I have had a number of women clients who were prescribed ECT for distress related to rape or domestic abuse. This is not treatment.
Lisa admitted how the treatment left her struggling with memory loss
“It is re-traumatisation, and it must stop.” Professor John Read, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of East London, said: “Our findings show that women not only receive ECT more often but are also more likely to suffer its most damaging effects.
“These patterns cannot be dismissed as coincidence. They reflect systemic biases in psychiatry and underline the urgent need for a trauma-informed, feminist perspective on mental health care.”
He added: “Information about sex differences in risk and outcome must be routinely given to women and their families. ECT should not be the default response to women’s suffering.”
Electrodes are placed on the head of a model patient (Stock image)
The NHS claims ECT is “generally safe” and its usage in the UK is approved by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). A NICE spokesperson said: “ECT is recommended only in restricted circumstances when other treatments have not worked, or when a condition is potentially life-threatening.
“It is not a routine or first-line treatment. Before ECT is considered and offered, clinicians must weigh up the individual risks and benefits, including the potential for cognitive impairment.
“Where patients have capacity, consent must be given freely and without coercion, and they must be made aware of their right to withdraw it at any time. In cases where a patient lacks capacity, any decision to proceed with treatment is made within a strict legal framework and must comply with relevant legislation.
“We keep our guidance under review as new evidence emerges.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with anyone who has experienced harm or distressing side effects following ECT. Patient safety is paramount to us and we take all accounts of this kind incredibly seriously.
“It is NICE who is responsible for issuing national guidance and advice and ensuring that this reflects the best available evidence. Clinical guidance from NICE is clear that patients must be fully informed of the risks and side effects before any decision is made, and that appropriate precautions must be taken throughout.”
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