Benefits

ECT treatment is known to produce benefits. A major factor in determining if ECT will be effective is based on illness duration. A low level of duration creates better results: the sooner the condition is treated, the better the outcome. If one is ill less than six months, the remission rate for that group is 60% to 70%. If one is ill six months to a year, that group’s remission rate is 40% (Kleinerman, 1947). Having schizophrenia for around one year produces a 55% to 60% remission rate (Palmer, Sprang, & Hans, 1951). If one is ill more than two years, the remission rate is less than 10% (Kleinerman, 1947).

Another benefit is that the wish for suicide disappears after two to four treatments. Patients that receive two to four treatments produce a remission rate as high as 80% to 100%. They are treated fast, so their remission rate is greater than other groups may be. While remission rates are high, the chance of recovery is as well. Remission is a temporary, sometimes permanent decrease of manifestations of a disease. Recovery is returning to normal state of good health before the disease. ECT shortens the course of illness and decreases the length of required hospitalization (Kleinerman, 1947). ECT is used to obtain greater speed of action (Fablet-Vergnaux, Loirat, & Vanelle, 2003).

Having ECT as a treatment for schizophrenia can help increase tolerance to other forms of treatment. It allows the use of more moderate doses of neuroleptic drugs¹² , which could increase tolerance¹³ (Fablet-Vergnaux, Loirat, & Vanelle, 2003). With the continued use of ECT in a series of treatments, your tolerance grows with each session. The increased tolerance could help in the long run. Using ECT may be a better long-term outcome compared to taking medication (Keuneman, Weerasundera, & Castle, 2002). An increased tolerance can change to a permanent tolerance.