electroshock therapy

British  

/ ɪˈlɛktrəʊˌʃɒk /

noun

1. another name for electroconvulsive therapy

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electroshock therapy Cultural  

1. The passing of an electric current (see also current) through the brain to induce a brief seizure. This therapy is still used to treat major depression when other methods, such as drugs, are ineffective or not well tolerated by the recipient.

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Although this treatment has been controversial, the careful use of anesthetics and muscle relaxers in combination with a more controlled use of a lower electric current has reduced the problems that were associated with it in the past.

Example Sentences

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electroshock therapy

Los Angeles and Tucson, Ariz. Despite many close friendships, especially with women, he was at heart a loner, conditioned, possibly, by clinical depression, for which he sought electroshock therapy even though it addled his brain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

Eagleton, a Missouri Democrat and a vice-presidential nominee in 1972, had been hospitalized three times for depression and undergone electroshock therapy, a revelation that derailed his chance to serve in the White House.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 17, 2023

He went through many rounds of early ECT practices, which were then known as electroshock therapy.

From Slate ● Dec. 21, 2022

In 1972, Thomas Eagleton was forced to drop off the Democratic presidential ticket as George McGovern’s running mate after disclosures that he had been hospitalized for depression and treated with electroshock therapy.

From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2022

The physician also agreed to refrain from giving him electroshock therapy, a commonly used treatment for mental conditions in Canadian hospitals at that time.

From How and When to Be Your Own Doctor by Solomon, Steve