Psychiatrists mourn 43% decline in use of electroshock therapy

Thursday, January 17, 2013 by: Mike Bundrant
Tags: psychiatrists, electroshock therapy, depression

(NaturalNews) From 1993 to 2009, there was a progressive decline in the number of hospitals offering electro-convulsive therapy or "shock treatment." This means roughly 43% fewer psychiatric inpatients are receiving shocks.

Some psychiatrists are beside themselves.

"Psychiatry has taken a step backward," said Dr. John Krystal, editor of Biological Psychiatry. "The suffering and disability associated with antidepressant-resistant depression constitute a profound burden on the patient, their family, and society. ECT remains the gold standard treatment for treatment-resistant depression," he commented. "We must insure that patients with the greatest need for definitive treatment have access to this type of care."

And how are we to "insure" that people "have access?" I am not sure I want to know.

Others, such as Dr. Brady Case, from Bradley Hospital and Brown University, are sounding the alarm. "Our findings document a clear decline in the capacity of US general hospitals -- which provide the majority of inpatient mental health care in this country -- to deliver an important treatment for some of their most seriously ill patients. Most Americans admitted to general hospitals for severe recurrent major depression are now being treated in facilities which do not conduct ECT."

Oh no! Depressed people are being admitted to facilities that do not offer shock treatment!

Someone call the President! We can't let this trend continue or we may have to figure out a different way to fry people, erase their memory and turn their heads into mush.

If I were being treated for depression in a facility that offers shock therapy, I'd be scared. The last thing I'd need is some doc insisting that my brain has malfunctioned and needs to be zapped.

Reasons for the decline in use of ECT are said to be related to cost. The procedure has "been refined" and "regulated" over the years and has become more expensive. Therefore, many poor souls are being "denied access" due to poverty, the story goes.

Or, maybe people are finally waking up?

Interesting that nowhere in the scenario do those concerned psychiatrists mention psychotherapy as a treatment for depression. The assumption, mentioned from the get-go, is that if medication doesn't work, then you are out of options. Shock treatment is the only choice left.

This is typical of the ignorance and arrogance of psychiatrists who do not understand human relations or inner dynamics.

Is it any wonder that the best treatments for deep emotional issues have been suppressed by mainstream mental health?

Should we be surprised that heroes like Edmund Bergler - a colleague of Sigmund Freud who introduced the deepest and most effective cure for self-sabotage and emotional angst in history - is an unknown in the world today?

Perhaps the time has come for people to demand less "biological" intervention via drugs and shock treatment and more real solutions. Maybe it is time to take a deep look at emotional self-sabotage and learn the unconscious dynamics that create it. This would be a huge drug-free, electro-seizure-free step toward liberation.

About the author:
Watch the free video The AHA! Process: An End to Self-Sabotage and discover the lost keys to personal transformation and emotional well-being that have been suppressed by mainstream mental health for decades.

The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. Click here to watch the presentation that will turn your world upside down.

Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.

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