Electroconvulsive Therapy in...

By: Gabriella Jeffrey

ECTThe psychology term connected to this

movie is Electroconvulsive therapy. It is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT is traditionally used to help patients with severe depression.

History of ECT In 1937, Ugo Cerletti, a epilepsy

specialist, decided shock induced seizures would be good for treating Schizophrenia.

After testing on animals, he moved to actual patients. They had no memory of the procedures, so they liked it more than metrazol.

Popularity of this therapy went down in the 60s and 70s.

ECT back then vs todayBack then Given no relaxants Patients were fully

awake for procedure

Often broke bones

Today Patients are given

muscle relaxants and an anesthetic

Given shocks while unconscious

One flew over the cuckoo's nest was originally a book written by 1962 novel written by Ken Casey.

He wrote based on his trip to the Oregon mental institute. Therefore, the movie is based on a real institute and real behaviors of nurses.

Book

Movie summaryOne flew over the cuckoo's nest. Randle

McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson) was sentenced to prison (again) and instead faked being insane. He was then sent to a mental institution, which he believed would be better than prison but he was wrong. The place was run by a terrible nurse named Nurse Ratched, and she treated all of the patients horribly, punishing them using ECT.

Connection: ECT in the movieThe horrible nurse Ratched used ECT as

punishment in her institution. McMurphy and two others were then given this treatment when they got in trouble. He didn't even have an illness!

My opinionElectroconvulsive therapy sounds

absolutely terrifying. This movie is great for showing how it was in the past as well as the equipment used. This is a last resort procedure for an ill patient when no other type of medicine is working, and the fact that she used it on them as punishment! It had a realistic interpretation of life in an institution and what ECT is and how it is used.

References https://psybites.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest/ http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n04/historia/shock_i.htm#cerletti http://www.electroboy.com/electroshocktherapy.htm https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychologist-the-movies/201205/mental-hospitals-in-one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest