THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ECT ON SUICIDAL IDEATION

Suicide as one of psychiatric emergencies is an important psychosocial problem
and it is more common among major depressive patients. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), one of the
most rapid and safe methods in treatment of psychological disorders, has been also used effectively for
treatment of major depression. This study has been designed to assess the effect of ECT on suicidal
ideation in psychiatric patients.
Material & Methods: Thisquasi-experimental studywas conducted on 20 subjects with psychiatric
disorders (group of control 10 and experimental 10 subjects) who referred to 505 Psychiatric Hospital
in 2013 and were in the same general health condition. The experimental group received ECT plus
medication, whereas the control group was treated only by medication. Beck Suicide scale (BSSI) was
used to measure suicidal ideation. Patients were evaluated by filling questioners one day before
beginning of ECT, a day after last session, and also three months later. We did data analysis by SPSS-
19 software and two-way multi Variance repeated measurement system.
Results: The findings of this research showed a meaningful difference between suicidal ideation scale
in both the experimental and control group in post-test evaluation (p= 0.002). But there was no
meaningful difference between them in the follow up evaluation (p=1). These results are in agreement
with evidences from earlier studies.
Conclusion: Although ECT is effective in rapid decline of suicidal ideation in psychiatric patients, but
its effects is not long term, and it is necessary to continue maintenance therapy for prevention of
relapse