ECT for 16 year olds !

Agree it is extremely worrying. My mother had it for intractable depression, the first time it worked like a miracle, but she slipped back after a year, and the second and third times not nearly so effective. It caused Parkinson's disease in her, which then led to dementia. It's like kicking one of the old televisions, it might work temporarily, but you don't know the damage you are doing.

Here it is

news.sky.com/story/electroconvulsive-therapy-being-used-on-teens-in-nhs-trusts-11606545

Sorry BlueBell I typed my post at the same time as your post. It was definitely about treatment in the U.K. I was so angry I started this thread after hearing the interviews.

It was on SKY news, a female doctor said after the treatment she could no longer work. A chap was interviewed , sorry can’t recall his position but he was speaking for the BMA or some such body , he defended the use of it,

I ve just looked this up as I only saw a snippet on the tv and from what I see it’s not being used in Uk and NICE recommend it for over 18 only This appears to be a Us strategy to use for violence in children with autism etc
Anniebach do you have anything more relevant than I found

They were talking about it on tv not as a one of case but as it being a process that was being used Jane10

I can only assume that every other therapeutic avenue has been explored. Acute mental illness in such a young person can have a high mortality rate. The clinicians involved must have been pretty desperate.
Where has the OP found this case though?

It is believed to cause more harm than good and no one even knows how or why it seems to work and I do say seems as it is often a tempory lift
I too thought it was completely phased out
about fifteen years ago I worked with a young lady who had been given it for depression which in turn had been caused by child abuse she said it was terrible and left her with dreadful headaches she needed counselling and support around the child abuse not her brain blasting
I don’t like the thought of it still being used and cannot imagine why a child with a still growing brain should be given it a very very uncomfortable thought

At 16? The child would have to had a history of mental health problems, it can not be said at the start of this treatment if they will be permanent damage , it’s a roll of the dice.

It can be a last resort. Things can be pretty desperate in some cases.

ECT was phased out for a time Luckygirl then began to be used again in a limited way. I am very surprised at it being prescribed for a 16 year old though.

Last resort at 16?

For some people, and for unclear reasons, it's the only thing that works. It's drastic but only done as a last resort and with much discussion and consultation.

My friend had this at about the same age - but that was many moons ago. I thought it had been phased out.