In 80 years since the invention of shock therapy (aka Electroconvulsive Therapy or ECT), psychiatry has yet to develop standardized method of administration technique. There are more than seven variables involved in the administration technique method of shock therapy. It’s also concerning that in 80 years of use, medical regulatory bodies have yet to safety test, regulate, routinely calibrate, and audit for safety standards in medical devices which deliver between 0.75-0.9 AMPS/225-450v/403-1200mC of electricity.

While shock treatment may seem like a thing of the past—notably portrayed in movies like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “A Beautiful Mind”—each year, more than two million people receive  Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) internationally. Recently that number’s growing due to "New Thinking [that] Challenges the Stigma Around ‘Shock Therapy.’"

This petition is designed to prioritize patient safety by reducing likelihood of patient injury (immediate or delayed) from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT or "shock treatments"). 

ECT is a "brief electrical stimulation of the brain that causes about a minute-long [Grand Mal (tonic-clonic)] seizure." [i] The late Berkeley neurologist, Dr. John Friedberg, (a Yale graduate) explained "new and improved" shock treatments to the Mental Health Committee of the New York State assembly saying "The whole point of ECT is to trigger a convulsion and there is simply no way around the brain’s threshold: 100 joules of energy, a typical “dose,” ... equals the energy it takes to light up a 100 watt bulb for one second or drop a 73 pound (30kg) weight one foot (33cm) [onto the head]. It’s the energy that does the damage." 

According to Psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin, during shock treatment, the electricity can cause a momentary flat-lining of brain activity, a sign of brain death.

Medically Sanctioned Repetitive Head Injury

A “Standard index course” (also known as an “Acute course”) of ECT is 8-12 treatments—usually delivered two to three times a week. Imagine having a 73-pound weight dropped onto your head by a trusted doctor several times a week. Some patients continue with “Maintenance ECT” for additional treatments.  As of October 2019, there are no rigorous standard operating procedures or third-party regulatory oversight to monitor how many ECT treatments a patient receives. Doctors gave me 116 treatments. I know patients who’ve had between 66 and more than 200 ECT treatments.

No matter how much we trust doctors, they cannot bend natural laws associated with electrical force and it’s contact with the human body.

Court recognized risks of permanent brain damage and permanent memory loss

In October 2018, Somatics, LLC (ECT machine manufacturer) made a confidential settlement for permanent brain damage and permanent memory loss (Riera V Somatics, LLC). Shortly after the settlement, Somatics published a regulatory update for their Thymatron System IV machine which lists the following seven risks associated with permanent brain damage and permanent memory loss: 

• Bilateral electrode placement;
• Sine wave stimulation;
• High electrical dosage relative to seizure threshold;
• Closely spaced treatments;
• Larger numbers of treatments;
• Concomitant psychotropic medications;
• High dosage of barbiturate anesthetic agents

Each risk listed in the user manual update are one of many variables associated with treatment administration technique method. Given this new admission by an ECT device manufacturer, it is critical to prioritize patient safety by immediately standardizing operating procedures for administration technique to reduce the risk of injury to patients undergoing electroconvulsive treatment. 

As of 2019, not all ECT is created equal. Debating ECT safety and efficacy is as like debating car safety where one person envisions the luxurious safety of a 2019 BMW class 5 and another person envisions the world's most dangerous car, the 1971 Ford Pinto. Like car safety debates of this nature, all parties feel justified in arguing for or against ECT safety.