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Electroconvulsive Therapy

Essay by   •  April 6, 2011  •  Essay  •  790 Words (4 Pages)  •  1,775 Views

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Among all the options of treatments, which included medications, psychotherapy, hospitalization, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), one of the most effective therapies is electroconvulsive therapy. Based on the information, paranoid schizophrenia is a kind of disorder which hardly charm away completely, the only way is to maintain a better status in paranoid schizophrenia for the patient to have a healthier and happier life, even can says to have a more normal and fair life compare to others. Thus, an effective therapy to overcome this disorder is urgent need not only for the patient, and also all the families members and friends of the patients.

Electroconvulsive therapy is a kind of therapy which sending electrical current through the brain, to trigger a brief controlled seizures. This process is to cause a massive neurochemical release in brain, which can reduce symptoms of the patient. In some situations, ECT can make significant and dramatic improvements in symptoms, and more quickly compare to other therapy like medications and psychotherapy. ECT is commonly used in patients who has severe symptoms and depression, and also for those patients who have no response to other treatments or cannot take antidepressants. Patients who very intend on suicide or in a severe status of paranoid schizophrenia are always suggested to have ECT which works more rapidly. There is also another study that the rates of suicide attempts are relatively rare on patients who had tried ECT before.

Electroconvulsive therapy actually have a higher success rate than any other method of treatments, and always produce dramatically improve on the patients. ECT can be given as much as 3 to 4 times a week for a patient, until the patient's is improve into a better status of functioning, then another 1 or 2 additional treatments could help the patient to maintain a better status and avoiding relapse. During old time, people associations with ECT start with the electric chair, lightning bolts, electric eels and all kind of terrible methods that seem like death penalty. However, nowadays ECT can process without any pain, moreover obvious modifications in technique, comparing to old time methods.

In the process having ECT, a very short-acting barbiturate is used to put the patient to sleep, moreover the drug succinycholine is administered to temporarily paralyze the body muscles to prevent contract and cause fractures during the treatment. In the whole process, the patient is breathing pure oxygen through a mask. After this, electrodes are going to place, and placing different position on head mean different kind of ECT. The first one is unilateral ECT, which is placing an electrode above the temple of the non dominant side of the brain, and another one is placed in the middle of the forehead. The second type is bilateral ECT, which is similarly placing an electrode above the temple of the non dominant side of the

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