Shock Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness

Traces the controversial history of ECT and other shock therapies. Drawing on case studies, public debates, extensive interviews, and archival research, the authors expose the myths about ECT that have proliferated over the years. By showing ECT's often life-saving results, they endorse a point of view that is hotly contested in professional circles and in public debates, but for the nearly half of all clinically depressed patients who do not respond to drugs, this book brings much needed hope.

EDWARD SHORTER is the Jason A. Hannah Chair of the History of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is the author of numerous books, including "A History of Psychiatry "and "Before Prozac."DAVID HEALY is a professor of psychiatry in the department of psychological medicine at Cardiff University and the author of numerous books, including "Let Them Eat Prozac." He was secretary of the British Association for Psychopharmacology.