ECT and severe clinical depression ?

Q.It is my understanding that the only approved (by the US FDA) use for electro-shock therapy is in the treatment of severe clinical depression. Anyone have the scoop? People with severe clinical depression spend their entire day curled up in a ball on the floor. I don't see how Scientology[tm] is supposed to help with that.

A.ECT is used solely to treat "refractory depression": depression which is nonresponsive to other therapies. People with refractory depression are constant threats to their own safety and are often unsuitable for psychotherapy because of the acute effects of depression. Since SSRIs generally take 7 to 21 days to begin to take effect, and some severe types of depression do not respond, or do not respond adequately, to SSRIs, another approach is required in extremely severe cases. ECT is used solely to break the grip of refractory depression long enough for an SSRI or other antidepressive to take effect and/or to permit the onset of effective psychotherapy. It is not a long-term or permanent solution. The main advantages of ECT are that it works when nothing else does, and its effect is immediate. The major disadvantage is interference with short-term memory. ECT is rarely used outside of an institutional setting, since its use is generally restricted to people who present an immediate threat to their own safety. The FDA does not have approval authority over the use of ECT. They hold authority over the design and manufacture of ECT machines, as they are "medical devices." The FDA cannot dictate how ECT is to be used any more than they can tell a doctor what medication to prescribe for any particular patient. Before neuroleptic drugs were discovered schizophrenics made up most of the population of mental hospitals. They were a large body of effectively permanent patients, who were usually restrained for their own safety. Once these drugs began seeing use most of these patients were able to return to their families. In a few short years the hospitals, which were becoming crowded, suddenly emptied.

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