ECT Manual - Licensing, Legal Requirements and Clinical Practice Guidelines (January 2009)

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Overview

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is most commonly prescribed for treating severe depression but may also be used for other types of serious mental illness such as mania, schizophrenia, catatonia and other neuropsychiatric conditions.

ECT is a procedure performed under general anaesthesia and muscle relaxation in which modified seizures induced by the selective passage of an electrical current through the brain are used for therapeutic purposes. Where ECT is prescribed, it should form part of a treatment plan in combination with other therapies.

Guidelines for the practice of ECT in Victoria were first published by the Chief Psychiatrist in June 1991. Since that time there has been significant growth in knowledge about ECT, advances in the available technology and major changes to the treatment environment. The 2009 manual provides contemporary guidance to service providers – public and private – in relation to ECT licensing, administration and clinical practice.

Licensing aims to provide assurance to mental health consumers that both services and the practitioners administering ECT meet established standards. All services performing ECT must be licensed. This manual sets out the requirements for the licensing of premises, the performance of ECT, minimum standards for resources and equipment, and provides practical clinical guidance for staff prescribing ECT or engaged in its administration.