Carl Salzman, M.D., in American Journal of Electrotherapy Psychiatry (Sept. 1977), 1700 18th st.,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009.
Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), for 40 years an accepted treatment for such disorders as severe depression, suicidal tendencies, and acute insomnia, has sparked a growing ethical debate.
"Though it is neither a panacea nor a sadistic intrusion," writes Har- vard psychiatrist Salzman, the nature of ECT (passing an electric cur- rent through the patient's brain)...