Electroconvulsive therapy has a bad rap. And not just because of its depiction in the movies. Critics point to the way the procedure was misused, as an inhumane tool used to control the behavior of psychiatric patients.
But advocates argue that ECT has been widely and safely used in mainstream psychiatry since the 1940s. Today some physicians think ECT is the only viable treatment for conditions like severe depression. In Chicago, numerous clinics offer ECT treatment, one being the Rush University Medical Center. Rush psychiatrist Dr. Thanh Thai talks to us about the positive side of ECT.