Abstract
In some ways, the title says it all with this book. It is a programmed text on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Richard Weiner is well known internationally for his research and lectures on ECT and in this book he and his fellow authors give a systematic account of ECT and its history, development and current clinical practice. The book is easy to read and logical in its development, and is presented in a series of chapters with 10 or so questions at the end of each, which give an opportunity for the reader to test himself on how much he has learnt. A further, more extensive list of questions is included at the end of the book.
In particular, this is a practical book, explaining in some detail the kind of patients who should have ECT and what investigations or referrals need to be made beforehand; it also gives a detailed account of what should actually be done with each treatment. Although the book is American, the practice of ECT in Australia is not much different.
I feel that this book would be excellent for psychiatric trainees in providing an up-to-date account of what ECT is and how it is carried out in the present day. It provides sufficient detail such that I would imagine they would need to read little else on the subject. For consultants who did not use ECT themselves, but occasionally prescribed it, it would probably give a clear account of how ECT is performed today and the significant changes that have developed over the last decade. These include the routine use of EEG monitoring, determination of threshold and the switch to high-dose, unilateral ECT in an attempt to lessen memory problems, while retaining the efficacy of bilateral ECT.
The ECT training courses in Victoria and New South Wales are more detailed in the information they provide, so practitioners of ECT who have done these courses would find the book provided little new information. However, for consultants in other States who did not have access to these courses and who perform ECT, this book would certainly be a very useful introduction to modern ECT practice.