A Survey of ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Are the Self-Reported Reasons for The Recipients' Problems Being Addressed?
John Read, Sue Cunliffe, Sarah Hancock and 3 others
PMID 41378458WHAT IT FOUND
Most ECT recipients believed childhood trauma or recent stress caused their condition, yet fewer than half said mental health staff asked about these factors.
Even fewer said the issues were addressed therapeutically. Practice appears to be improving slowly over time.
Key findings
01Most ECT recipients believed childhood adversities contributed to the problems for which they received ECT, but nearly half reported never being asked about them by mental health staff.
02Only about a third of recipients reported being asked about recent stressors, and fewer than a quarter said those stressors were therapeutically addressed.
03Clinical practice regarding asking about and addressing psychosocial factors appears to be improving over time, with more recent ECT courses associated with affirmative responses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was recruited via social media and advocacy groups, which may bias results towards those with negative experiences of ECT or specific views on psychosocial causation. Self-reported data relies on memory, which may be inaccurate due to the passage of time or the effects of ECT itself. The survey was only available in English, limiting generalisability to non-English speaking populations. The study reports associations between time and practice but does not prove causation or the effectiveness of trauma-informed care in this context.
Declared interests
John Read has been a paid expert witness in ECT legal cases. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study received no specific funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high prevalence of reported trauma and stress as evidence that ECT is ineffective or harmful. The study reports patients' beliefs about causation and their experiences of being asked about these factors, not clinical outcomes or the efficacy of ECT.