For most, the term "electroshock" immediately evokes the image of Jack Nicholson under torture in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  Dr. Max Fink deliberately confronts and contradicts this in the title of his book, asserting electroshock as a tool of healing, not punishment.

Dr. Fink produces ample evidence that electroshock, also known as Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), offers quick results, high success rates, and low risks. Indeed, he writes that ECT is the safest treatment available for elderly and pregnant patients, as there are no drug side effects or interactions. The public's image of ECT has not caught up with current techniques, which include: anesthesia to prevent pain and bodily damage; carefully calibrated electricity which produces a controlled seizure, not a shock; and a supply of oxygen that averts long-lasting memory loss.

Dr. Fink asserts that modern ECT methods have nearly eliminated permanent memory loss. He attributes reports of lasting lapses to a recurrence of illness, or, to the side-effects of certain psychotropic drugs. In his fervor to rehabilitate ECT's image, Dr. Fink perhaps underplays this risk - the actual magnitude of which is, indeed, difficult to determine. The hazards of properly administrated electroshock do seem slight. Prospective patients or those responsible for them should weigh this risk against success rates in alleviating depression at about 85% - far higher than any single drug.

This volume makes an excellent case for greater use of ECT for the treatment of major depression, mania, and psychosis, among other conditions.