Fresh Optimism: A Positive Shift in Perspective

In a groundbreaking development, the team at LVR Clinic Viersen, led by Dr. Heike Guckelsberger, deputy medical director, and the chief physician of general psychiatry, Banafsche Modjtahedi, have endorsed the effectiveness and safety of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). This medically proven procedure, used for decades, has been instrumental in treating severe depression, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses.

The procedure, which lasts approximately eight minutes while the patient is under brief anesthesia, is performed under constant supervision by a specialized team. During ECT, a targeted, brief electrical impulse is triggered via electrodes on the head, inducing a controlled seizure.

Modern anesthesia, intensive monitoring, and careful preparation make ECT well-tolerated. The artificially induced seizure during ECT leads to a reboot in the interplay of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which are significant in controlling mood, drive, and emotional life.

A patient who has undergone around a dozen ECT treatments at the LVR-Klinikum Viersen has reported feeling increasingly joyful in life after the treatments. The acute treatment phase lasts three to five weeks, with sessions usually held two to three times a week. In some cases, maintenance therapy with larger intervals may follow to prevent relapses.

ECT is particularly beneficial for people with treatment-resistant severe depression. The team at LVR Clinic Viersen endorses ECT as a procedure that, while it may initially sound unusual or frightening, has been proven effective in certain cases where medication and talk therapy are insufficient.

Dr. Guckelsberger and the team at LVR Clinic Viersen stand by their endorsement of ECT, citing its reliability and the positive impact it has had on their patients' lives. ECT is a beacon of hope for those struggling with severe mental illnesses, offering a path to recovery where other treatments may have failed.