A group of researchers at Rutgers University led by Dr. In retrospect, that might have been an early sign of the possible utility of ECT for treating PTSD.Īnother early indicator of ECT as a potential treatment for PTSD came from a study of rats in the 1960s. When people first administered ECT to patients in the 1930s to 1950s, they found that it caused memory impairments. However, nowadays, ECT actually is a safe, quick and effective procedure with few side effects and is used to achieve faster recovery in some patients with depression. Due to the fact that this treatment was given to patients without general anesthesia in its early days, ECT treatment has been stigmatized, particularly in the past several decades. This treatment restores the chemical balance of the brain and is effective at alleviating the symptoms of a variety of mental illnesses, including severe depression, mania, and psychosis. Given its utility in many areas of psychiatry, ECT has been studied for its potential effects in modifying painful memories.ĮCT is a medical procedure in which a brief, monitored seizure is generated in the patient’s brain by passing small electrical current through the brain while the patient is under general anesthesia.

The central focus of PTSD treatment has always been dealing with patients’ painful memories. People who suffer from PTSD are haunted by their painful memories in a way that disturbs their daily functioning. A variety of situations can trigger PTSD symptoms: a war veteran can have flashbacks of fierce combat scenes, a terror attack victim can re-experience the horror of an explosion triggered by the sounds of firecrackers, and a victim of childhood abuse can have vivid nightmares well into adulthood. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects individuals who have gone through extremely frightening, painful, or stressful events in their life. Dealing with Painful Memories:The focus of PTSD treatment What comes to mind when you hear the term electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)? A cruel torture method for disobedient psychiatric patients portrayed in films like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Or a last-resort for treatment-resistant depression with less discomfort and fewer side-effects? New developments in using ECT to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder might soon give us a new way to think about ECT: a tool to erase one’s painful memories, like the memory modification method in the film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

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