Ep. 34 Electroconvulsive Therapy: The Shocking Truth

The thought of shocking someone into having a seizure all for...what? Cure their depression? That sounds crazy! But it’s real! And like so many topics on this podcast, the story of how this concept came to be is just as interesting and seemingly insane as the actual practice. This week we discuss a procedure called Electroconvulsive Therapy, or ECT. A treatment used in the world of psychiatry to treat patients with a range of concerns. Listen in to hear about the serendipitous origins of ECT and how it got its reputation over the years. Then we’ll discuss the intersection of ECT and women’s wellbeing, and how something meant to help folx may have caused unintentional harm. We promise you’ll be ~shocked~ by what you hear!

Check out our Feminist Corner discussion questions after listening and send us your thoughts! 

• Thinking about ECT as a treatment for really severe mood disorders like depression, what factors may have led to women being ECT candidates? And also, think about this in the context of the time period during which ECT was particularly gnarly, without anesthesia or anything like that? 
• What’s one takeaway you’d like to give our listeners about ECT, maybe a way in which your mind has changed about it!