Madam, - The article on ECT - electroconvulsive therapy - in your edition of June 25th is factually incorrect, misleading and alarmist ("Barbaric age of electric shock 'cure' must vanish").
Despite the best efforts of the author to downgrade the immense value of ECT we wish to stress that it is widely regarded by the psychiatric profession as a valuable treatment, recognised by all international psychiatric organisations, academic bodies and the World Health Organisation.
In Ireland, ECT treatment is rigorously overseen and regulated by the Mental Health Commission. The Mental Health Act 2001 enshrines the basis for this regulation in law.
We, as doctors, consider it unethical and unprofessional to withhold from our patients, as a potential option, any treatment which can be effective, and indeed life-saving in some instances.
We also believe that the illustration accompanying the article was highly inappropriate, stigmatising and distressing for patients who have received and mostly benefited from ECT - and for their families. - Yours etc,
Dr M.C. WALSH, Chairman, Irish College of Psychiatrists; Dr SIOBHAN BARRY, Chairman, Irish Psychiatric Association, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2.
Madam, - Dr Michael Corry's extreme views on ECT, if heeded, (Opinion Analysis, June 25th) could lead to preventable deaths.
I urge anyone who wants to be better informed on this complex and vital subject to watch the film Shock, released in 2006. In it, 12 people tell their personal stories of treatment with ECT. One of them is the former first lady of Massachusetts, Kitty Dukakis.
Theirs is a courageous testimony of suffering and recovery with ECT. As a balanced documentary, individual accounts of side-effects are also presented and the debate includes testimony from those who campaigned to ban the treatment in the United States, such as Leonard Frank, who was forced to have ECT against his will.
As for the tens of thousands of Irish men and women who have depression, their families and those who care for them, I urge them to disregard Dr Corry's opinion.
ECT must remain a therapeutic option for those who have found treatment with antidepressants and/or psychotherapy ineffective, and for those whose illness becomes so severe that emergency treatment is called for. - Yours, etc,
Dr PAUL O'CONNELL, Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14.