Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as “electro-shock,” therapy, has bounced back from its stigmatized past to become an accepted treatment for those with severe depression or bipolar disorders who don’t respond to drugs or talk therapy.
As the Fort Myers News-Press reports, ECT is being used with about 10 percent of patients at an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Lee County. The Mayo Clinic calls it the “gold standard” when it comes to treating severe depression.