[Attitude of psychiatrists to electrotherapy]

Abstract

Psychiatrists practising in South-Eastern regions of France answered a questionnaire whose objective was to evaluate the technical conditions of the use of electroconvulsivotherapy (ECT), and to ascertain the way in which this therapy affected the lives of the patients (ECT is currently experiencing a revival in neuropsychiatric literature). Among the 400 psychiatrists who gave a complete response to the questionnaire, 22 per cent stated that they use ECT to treat inpatients. The authors try to define a typology of ECT users and non-users. The technical and scientific pragmatism of users contrasts with the highest moral reasons of non-users, although the latter do not form an homogeneous group. Factorial analysis methods were used to describe these populations with the most accuracy. The statistical analysis shows 4 sub-groups of psychiatrists: ECT users (22%); those who will never treat their patients with ECT because of ethical considerations (16%); those who will only use ECT for very serious inpatients but do not as yet have any ECT equipment at their disposal (58%); and the persons uncommitted about the use of ECT (4%).