Connecticut stands as an example of the growing problem of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) performed on patients without their consent, allowed under many states’ laws despite the procedure’s known risks of serious side effects and no proof of effectiveness.
by CCHR National Affairs Office
Data obtained from the state of Connecticut reveals a more than doubling over the past decade in the number of requests from psychiatric facilities for court orders allowing the forced administration of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, or “electroshock”) to patients who did not consent to it. The procedure is performed by psychiatrists on patients experiencing depression or other mental health conditions despite the significant risk of permanent memory loss and other complications.
Statistics from the Connecticut Office of the Probate Court Administrator show the number of petitions for involuntary electroshock received by probate courts statewide grew from 81 in 2015 to 193 in 2024, with a record high 199 in 2022. This year is on track to exceed that record, with 174 petitions filed through August. The figures were obtained through an information request by Jim Flannery, a former biomedical equipment technician, and are posted on his website.
These numbers represent individuals forced against their will to undergo a psychiatric procedure in which up to 460 volts of electricity is shot through their brains to cause convulsions. Psychiatrists still cannot explain how electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, or “electroshock”) is supposed to work to alleviate depression or other mental health conditions, how much voltage it will take, or how many sessions of the procedure to administer. It is a matter of trial and error with human lives.
ECT is known to cause cognitive impairment, permanent memory loss, prolonged or persistent seizures, worsening psychiatric symptoms, heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications, and death. A 2023 study concluded that patients who had received ECT were at a 44 times greater risk of suicide than patients who were not electroshocked.
Whether electroshock is even effective has never been proven. A 2019 comprehensive analysis of studies on ECT found that the quality of the prior research was so poor that nothing could be concluded about any effectiveness of the procedure.
This year, the largest-ever international survey of people who had received electroshock found that most recipients reported little or no benefit from their ECT treatment and, in many cases, reported it made their lives worse. A large majority reported memory loss, with most of them saying it had lasted at least three years. According to the researchers conducting the survey, “memory loss three years later is probably permanent.”
Psychiatrists performing electroshock can greatly increase their income. It has been estimated that a psychiatrist spending just a few hours a week to do 20 ECT procedures can bring in an additional $300,000 per year.
International mental health standards now oppose all coercive mental health practices, including forced electroshock. In 2023, the World Health Organization and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights advised that “international human rights standards clarify that ECT without consent violates the right to physical and mental integrity and may constitute torture and ill-treatment.” The organizations called for an outright ban on ECT for children.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) continues to call for legislation to ban all electroshock. CCHR’s documentary, Therapy or Torture: The Truth About Electroshock, which can be viewed online, warns consumers about the serious risks of ECT. To date, more than 140,000 people have signed CCHR’s petition to ban electroshock.
The content on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for personal medical advice given by a physician or other healthcare provider.