[et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” background_image=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/ect\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_1520.jpg” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”on” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#f2f2f2″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ specialty_columns=”2″][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column_inner type=”4_4″ saved_specialty_column_type=”1_2″][et_pb_post_title admin_label=”Post Title” title=”on” meta=”on” author=”off” date=”off” categories=”on” comments=”on” featured_image=”on” featured_placement=”below” parallax_effect=”on” parallax_method=”on” text_orientation=”left” text_color=”dark” text_background=”off” text_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” module_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0)” title_font=”PT Serif|on|||” title_font_size=”36px” title_all_caps=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font=”Open Sans||||” text_font_size=”16″ text_text_color=”#000000″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Since she graduated medical school in the 1990s, Dr. Lisa McMurray<\/a> has always strived to be an advocate for her patients.<\/p>\n McMurray points to the landmark Dr. Raphael Osheroff case of the 1980s when explaining the patient-centric approach that has defined her career in the field of psychiatry.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/ect\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Dr.-Lisa-McMurray.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column_inner][et_pb_column_inner type=”4_4″ saved_specialty_column_type=”1_2″][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Blurb” title=”Dr. Lisa McMurray, Clinical Lead, ECT Service at The Royal (Photo courtesy of The Royal)” url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”off” icon_color=”#7EBEC5″ use_circle=”off” circle_color=”#7EBEC5″ use_circle_border=”off” circle_border_color=”#7EBEC5″ icon_placement=”top” animation=”top” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_icon_font_size=”off” header_text_color=”#4c4c4c” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” header_font=”PT Sans|on|||” header_font_size=”16″ header_line_height=”1.2em”] [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font=”Open Sans||||” text_font_size=”16″ text_text_color=”#000000″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Osheroff, a medical doctor, became severely depressed after a difficult divorce.\u00a0 His symptoms were so serious that he eventually admitted himself to Chestnut Lodge, a hospital in the U.S. that specialized in talk therapy.<\/p>\n During his seven month stay, his condition got progressively worse.\u00a0 His doctors insisted he continue with psychotherapy, and never prescribed any medication.<\/p>\n In a last ditch effort to treat Osheroff\u2019s condition, his family had him transferred to another hospital, where he was prescribed antidepressants.\u00a0 He recovered within a few weeks.<\/p>\n He sued Chestnut Lodge for failing to treat his condition properly and was eventually awarded a large settlement.<\/p>\n The historic case sparked a debate in the U.S. about psychiatric patients\u2019 right to effective treatment.<\/p>\n It also crystalized Dr. McMurray\u2019s understanding of a doctor\u2019s role as an advocate for their patients.<\/p>\n Early on in her psychiatry career, she noticed that many patients were getting treatments that weren\u2019t necessarily helpful for them.<\/p>\n Doctors were selecting treatments based on their interests, rather than on what would actually help the patient based on science, McMurray explained.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really bothered me to see people languishing in different states of partial or non-remission, when we knew there were effective treatments out there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It became her mission to ensure that people always had access to effective treatments and it was for that reason that she gravitated to Electroconvulsive Therapy, or ECT.<\/p>\n Despite the fact that ECT is one of the most effective therapies in psychiatry, McMurray said that many psychiatrists still resist providing the treatment, or are scared to offer it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column_inner type=”1_2″ saved_specialty_column_type=”1_2″][et_pb_circle_counter admin_label=”Circle Counter” title=”For major depression, ECT is 80- to 90-per cent effective.” number=”85″ percent_sign=”on” background_layout=”light” bar_bg_color=”#40b529″ title_font=”PT Sans|on|||”] [\/et_pb_circle_counter][\/et_pb_column_inner][et_pb_column_inner type=”1_2″ saved_specialty_column_type=”1_2″][et_pb_circle_counter admin_label=”Circle Counter” title=”For treatment-resistant depression, ECT is 50- to 60-per cent effective.” number=”55″ percent_sign=”on” background_layout=”light” bar_bg_color=”#dd3333″ title_font=”PT Sans|on|||”] [\/et_pb_circle_counter][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column_inner type=”4_4″ saved_specialty_column_type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font=”Open Sans||||” text_font_size=”16″ text_text_color=”#000000″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Some doctors see it as a barbaric, archaic, high-risk treatment.\u00a0 Many simply don\u2019t like to do it because it\u2019s done in the early morning hours, which is inconvenient.<\/p>\n \u201cECT is an \u2018underdog treatment\u2019; it\u2019s not very sexy,\u201d said McMurray.<\/p>\n It worried her that an innocent, unsuspecting patient might come into a hospital with a case of depression and never have ECT presented as a treatment option, simply because the psychiatrist refuses to deliver it.<\/p>\n She decided that she wasn\u2019t going to be daunted by the stigma associated with ECT.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt that I owed it to my patients to give them whatever they needed\u201d.<\/p>\n Now, more than 20 years into her career, McMurray remains a strong advocate for ECT.\u00a0 As clinical lead of the ECT service at The Royal in Ottawa, she delivers ECT on a regular basis. \u00a0She says it\u2019s the only treatment in psychiatry that can so rapidly save a life.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#4c4c4c” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code”]<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oZPfTo6u6Ws?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#f2f2f2″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font=”Open Sans||||” text_font_size=”16″ text_text_color=”#000000″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n ECT is a form of brain stimulation that uses electrical energy to produce a seizure.<\/p>\n \u201cWe run a small current of electricity through the brain, most of it gets absorbed by the scalp and only a very small amount gets to the brain, and what it does is it stimulates the nerve cells so that they all start working together,\u201d McMurray said.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/ect\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/ECT-machine-at-ISEN-conference-in-Toronto.jpg”] [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Blurb” url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”off” icon_color=”#7EBEC5″ use_circle=”off” circle_color=”#7EBEC5″ use_circle_border=”off” circle_border_color=”#7EBEC5″ icon_placement=”top” animation=”top” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_icon_font_size=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” title=”Pictured above is a modern day ECT machine accompanied by a computer, allowing the psychiatrist to monitor the seizure in real-time (Photo \u00a9 Hayley Chazan)” header_font=”PT Sans|on|||” header_font_size=”16″ header_text_color=”#4c4c4c” body_font=”PT Sans|on|||” body_font_size=”16″ body_text_color=”#4c4c4c”] [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font=”Open Sans||||” text_font_size=”16″ text_text_color=”#000000″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n When all the nerve cells in the brain work in synchrony, the brain produces a seizure.<\/p>\n There is no consensus among practitioners about exactly why ECT works, but there is some belief in the field that the treatment causes a release of chemicals and a change of blood flow, which alter areas of the brain that may be impaired by mental illness.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I propose ECT to some of my patients, many people are surprised.\u00a0 \u00a0\u2018Are we still doing that? How can you bring that up?\u00a0 I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not that bad.\u2019 \u00a0\u00a0It still has a lot of negative stigma associated with it,\u201d McMurray said.<\/p>\n When you consider the history of ECT, it is easy to understand how it got its reputation, McMurray said.\u00a0 In the 1940s and \u201950s, before medication, ECT was a very effective and mainstream treatment.\u00a0 But it was also a very dangerous procedure because it was not administered in conjunction with anesthesia and muscle relaxants.\u00a0 These safeguards were only introduced many years later.\u00a0 Without muscle relaxants, the induced seizure would cause convulsions that sometimes broke patients\u2019 bones.<\/p>\n McMurray said that once antidepressants and similar medications were developed, there was a hope in the medical community that ECT would no longer be needed.\u00a0 But ultimately, because of its effectiveness and its ability to work quickly, ECT continued to be used as a treatment for mental illness.<\/p>\n In the 1960s and \u201970s, questions started to be raised about whether ECT was over-used or used on the wrong types of patients.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#4c4c4c” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code”]<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ENUCf2g-pZ0?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#f2f2f2″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font=”Open Sans||||” text_font_size=”16″ text_text_color=”#000000″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
\n\n\t\t
\nHow does it work?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nControversy<\/strong><\/h4>\n