Electroconvulsive Therapy

ECT treatments involve passing a small amount of electrical current passed between two electrodes placed on the head, in order to produce a monitored, short duration seizure which affects the entire brain. There are two ways that the electrodes may be placed on a patient’s head: “bilateral,” where the electrodes are placed on both temples of the head, and “unilateral,” where one electrode is placed on the temple and the other is placed on top of the head.