ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is well established as one of themost powerful and evidence-based treatments for severe mood disorders, and yet it remains underutilized. Limitations of early ECT technique, adverse media portrayal, and a lack of education about the procedure have stigmatized ECT for decades, and significant advances in the procedure have not completely eliminated that stigma. Patients and family members are often surprised to learn that the procedure still is used, and may even be offended to have it recommended. This reaction may be particularly common among geriatric patients who remember the early stigma of ECT.
