Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing - Interventions - Physical and Biological Interventions - Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Psychiatric mental health nurses are also involved in the administration of the treatment of electroconvulsive therapy and assist with the preparation and recovery from the treatment, which involves an anesthesia. This treatment is only used in a tiny proportion of cases and only after all other possible treatments have been exhausted. Approximately 85% of clients receiving ECT have major depression as the indication for use, with the remainder having another mental illness such as schizoaffective disorder, mania or schizophrenia.