What's Life Like After Shock Treatment (ECT)? - Guest Interview

This interview answers the most common questions people have about electroconvulsive therapy (also known as shock treatment, electroshock or ECT): Does ECT work? Does ECT cause Memory loss? Does ECT cause permanent memory loss? How will ECT memory loss impact my life, family and relationships? Does ECT cause brain damage? What barriers are common for people living life after ECT? Where can I get help after ECT for my injuries? Is the short-term benefit some people experience from ECT worth the risk of its long-term consequences? Marissa, a student in San Diego State University’s Rehabilitation Counseling Master’s program who chose to specialize in the Cognitive Certificate, interviewed me as part of her class project about barriers to accessing help after brain injury. In this video we discuss immediate and delayed consequences of repetitive electrical injury caused by electroconvulsive therapy, the California Department of Rehabilitation Brain Injury Advisory Board meetings, Neuropathology findings of electrical injury (gliosis, myelin sheath injury, vascular abnormalities, chronic microbleeds, brain stem injury, acquired channelopathies, dysarthria, swallowing issues, barriers to appropriate brain injury assessment for people harmed by medical treatment, academic accommodations, personal strategies I tried to improve my quality of life after ECT, memory problems and how memory loss impacts personal identity and personal relationships. Sarah Price Hancock, MS, CRC, lived for nearly two decades misdiagnosed with severe mental illness. She was given 116 bilateral ECT treatments and now lives with delayed electrical injury. Sarah holds a Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling and taught for four years in San Diego State University’s Rehabilitation Counseling program. She also hosts The Emotional Self-Reliance Podcast and guest lectures on psychiatric recovery. Follow her on Twitter Sarah P. Hancock, MS, CRC ♿ (@PsychRecovery) / Twitter Help ensure patients like Sarah get access to vital testing and rehabilitation and medical care by signing her petition Petition · Standardize, Regulate & Audit Shock Treatments (Electroconvulsive therapy or ECT) · Change.org Injured By ECT? Visit our resource pages Resources Action Litigation