Second
Week
Discussion
Points: 10 (6 for answers, 4 for responses)
NOTE: Electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT) has been
used off-and-on for decades to treat a variety of
psychiatric disorders. ECT has been publicized in
the news more recently regarding its
effectiveness in treating depression. For this
discussion, you will be reading content from a
few websites about ECT as a treatment for
depression, including stories posted by
individuals who were treated with ECT.
Shock Therapy
Makes a Quiet Comeback, an online
August 2008 article from
msnbc.com
The Mayo Clinic has an
online video featuring Joanne Ericksen,
an ECT patient (recommended but not required viewing;
Adobe Flash software required)
Medicine.net features questions
and answers about electroconvulsive shock
therapy for depression
Travel to ect.org
to view read a few personal stories about ECT (read any one or
more of these stories)
An image of a person ready to receive ECT
(O--the patient is purposely unconscious and has been given a mouthpiece
to prevent his teeth from grinding or biting his tongue;
presented by the University of Michigan's Depression Center)
DISCUSSION
After reading the articles, answer the following discussion
questions via the
Angel
courseware system at the conferencing site by FRIDAY,
October 9:
- Were your original opinions or ideas about
ECT changed after reading information at
the websites? Explain.
- How significant do you find ECT's side
effects?
- If a friend or family member wanted to pursue ECT, what
recommendations or feedback would you give to him or her?
Six points are awarded for answering all questions
completely and by the due date.
After posting your answers, post
at least four (4) responses or questions to other students
concerning their answers. These responses and/or questions
must be posted by MONDAY,
October 12.
Responses and questions should, of course, be
posed with a respectable tone. Students are
expected to answer all questions posed to them on
the conferencing site. Responses/questions
posted to other students are
also worth four points total, provided they are posted by the
due date.
Educational
Enrichment
From Leonard Roy Frank's book, Shock
Treatment, an
early history of ECT, including electric eel
therapy
Report from Psychological
Medicine, 2003
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (WebMD, October 2008)
Does Jolting the Brain Fight Deep Depression? (CNN article
on Deep Brain Stimulation, December 2008)
Brain Stimulation for Treatment Resistant Depression (Psych
Central, April 2008)
University of Michigan's Depression Center provides
information on Electroconvulsive
Therapy
Healthyplace.com features online
ECT audio and video clips
Last Revised: 10-2-09
