Newsweek Polska

Electric Avenue

A new study illuminates the value of shock therapy for the severely depressed. (Poziom B2)

Human brain filament inside of illuminated light bulb 2 Zobacz zdjęcia Zdjęć: 2 Human brain filament inside of illuminated light bulb

Psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and dozens of pharmaceuticals are the most common treatments for severe depression. One of the most powerful, however, is shock therapy. In studies, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as shock therapy, has rapidly restored to health up to 60 percent of patients with the disorder—far more effectively than more common treatments.

“ECT is the best treatment to get people with severe depression into remission,” says psychiatrist Daniel Maixner. And yet just 2 percent of patients opt for shock therapy. One reason is the stigma attached (see below). Another: It’s expensive—between $300 and $1,000 per treatment, and patients typically need five to 15 initial sessions, followed by 20 more for maintenance over the course of a year.

Researchers at the University of Michigan wanted to know whether ECT’s benefits justified the cost, particularly in comparison to medication and talk therapy. Their study’s enlightening results were published May 9 in JAMA Psychiatry.

How the study worked: Seven different strategies for treating depression, including ECT, were tested over four years, comparing the number of years each treatment was effective. They tallied the amount patients spent on a treatment per year, along with how often and how soon they went into remission and later relapsed.

What they found: ECT becomes cost-effective once two other medications have proved unsuccessful for eight weeks each. The approach costs about $54,000 per year. That expense falls well within the $50,000 to $150,000 range that insurers look for when weighing whether the benefit of an intervention is worth the cost.

Caveats: “We aren’t trying to dictate when providers should offer ECT,” says lead author Dr. Eric Ross, who emphasizes that cost is just one of many factors to consider, including convenience and severity of the illness.

Challenges: ECT tends to carry a stigma based on the era when ECT was, as Ross puts it, “uglier.” Anesthesia didn’t accompany the treatment in the 1960s and 1970s, and books and movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest didn’t help. Limited access to the treatment, due to the low number of practitioners, is also an issue.

Bottom line: “People often try five or 10 medications, experiencing months or years of uncontrolled depression, before someone offers ECT,” Ross says. The results from this study suggest shock therapy should be considered much sooner.

Task 1 (poziom B2)

Listen to the text and answer the following questions:

1. What are the most common treatments for severe depression?

2. How has ECT been stigmatized?

3. How cost effective is ECT?

4. What study did researchers conduct?

5. What did they find?

6. What caveats and challenges are there?

Task 2

Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. How does ECT treatment begin?

2. How much electricity is used to cause the therapeutic seizure?

3. How soon afterwards is a patient able to leave the hospital?

4. How many treatments does a patient usually need before they feel better?

5. How long does it typically take before they notice any difference?

6. Name one important side effect of the treatment?

7. What additional side effects may there be?

Task 3

Describe the problem presented in the article. Use the expressions listed below. They will help you give structure to the text analysis.

Key words:

severe depression

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

shock therapy

Collocations with positive meaning:

cognitive behavioral therapy

talk therapy

enlightening results


worth the cost

justified cost

Collocations with negative meaning:

severely depressed

attached stigma

limited access to the treatment

low number of practitioners

uncontrolled depression

Action verb phrases:

opt for shock therapy

accompany the treatment

go into remission

consider many factors

weigh the benefit

carry a stigma

Record your text analysis on a voice recorder or practise presenting your speech in a group.


Psychotherapy and pharmaceuticals are…

In studies, electroconvulsive therapy…

In comparison to medication and talk therapy,…

Insurers look for…

(That) cost is just one of many factors to consider…

ECT tends to carry a stigma…

Task 4

Translate the sentences below using the suggested word or phrase. (see Key)

(dozens of … are) Psychoterapia, terapia poznawczo-behawioralna i dziesiątki farmaceutyków stanowią najpopularniejsze metody leczenia ciężkiej depresji.

(powerful) Jedną z najsilniej działających jest jednak terapia szokowa.

(has … restored) W ramach badań terapia elektrowstrząsowa (ECT), znana również jako terapia szokowa, szybko przywróciła do zdrowia do 60 proc. pacjentów z tym zaburzeniem – skuteczność była o wiele większa niż w przypadku bardziej popularnych metod leczenia.

You can use the English versions in your presentation of the topic (in Task 6).

Task 5

Continue the translation using the suggested word or phrase. Remember, you do not have to translate each of these sentences perfectly—there are several versions of each translation. This task aims to teach you TO THINK IN ENGLISH. By working on the final version of a sentence, you can change it several times to get closer to the original version (see Key).

ECT to najlepszy sposób leczenia, aby uzyskać remisję u people with ciężką depresją, say psychiatrists.

A jednak zaledwie 2 proc. pacjentów opt for terapię szokową.

One reason jest związana z nią stygmatyzacja.

Another: jest droga – jej koszt to 300–1000 dol. per treatment, zaś pacjenci zwykle potrzebują 5–15 initial sessions, a następnie 20 kolejnych for maintenance w ciągu roku.


Task 6

Now it’s time to put forward your position. Record your speech on a dictaphone or practice presenting your opinion in a group. Consider the issues raised in the text from these viewpoints:

Medical: Modern treatments of severe depression

By and large, the best treatment to get people with severe depression into remission...

Still, some may prefer common treatments as there is...

Economic: The possible benefits are worth the cost

Moneywise, patients and insurers will spend less...

ECT may, in fact, turn out to be...

Personal: A complete disconnection from family and friends

Imagine what it’s like to live...

Surely, it must be...

Fot., EseninStudio/iStock

NEWSWEEK LEARNING ENGLISH EseninStudio/iStock / iStock


Wypróbuj aplikację mobilną Newsweek

  • pełen dostęp do subskrypcji
  • powiadomienia o najważniejszych wydarzeniach
  • e-wydanie szybciej niż w kiosku, w czytniku PDF