NYAPRS Note: While NYAPRS believes in informed choice and recognizes that a number of people knowingly choose and report benefit from the use of ECT, we feel it is important to share the following announcement, to present the views of those who oppose and/or have felt they have been harmed by such treatment. NYAPRS remains opposed to the practice of involuntary ECT.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 3, 2015
Mental Patients Liberation Alliance (THE ALLIANCE)
George Ebert 1-800-654-7227
Contact georgeebert@yahoo.com
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Yes, They Still Use Shock!
On Saturday, May 16th 2015, people from around the world will stand in unity to call for a ban on the use of electro-convulsive treatments (ECT). A peaceful demonstration will occur from 2:00-4:00 pm at 44 Holland Avenue, Albany, New York, location of the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH). Supporters are asked to join the protest. Concerned people are encouraged to visit the protest site for more information. People who have had electro-shock treatments are invited to attend and give voice to their experience.
It is estimated that over 100,000 people in the United States receive this brain-damaging treatment each year, although figures and demographics are often concealed or distorted. Concerns include the propaganda used to market shock as somehow different from the past. Activists say that shock is dehumanizing and is described by many as torture. A name change, a newly designed machine, or a dose of tranquilizers does not alter the irreversible brain damage caused by shock.
Other common misconceptions about shock are that it is used only as a last resort treatment for severe depression, that people are fully informed about shock before consenting to treatment, and that it results with success in alleviating depression. Shock is given in series of procedures, and is not a one-time event. A single series may involve 12-36 administrations of shock.
Who administers shock treatments, who pays, and who profits?
For more than 35 years, activists have tried to gain vital information regarding shock use in New York State and to demand accountability for its use. Children are still being shocked, but the statistics are virtually impossible to attain, as is data around veterans. Another high-risk group being shocked is women over the age of 65 and receiving Medicare benefits. It is not known how many people are court-ordered to undergo shock treatments, how many people under Assisted Outpatient Treatment court orders are shocked, or under what other circumstances people are forced to undergo treatments.
Protest participants hope to educate the public of the truth about the long-term and short-term damages of shock, the blatant force and coercion used to gain uninformed “consent”, and the human rights violations involved. The Albany event will inform the NYSOMH of the worldwide unity of survivors of shock, family members, concerned people, and other supporters, who demand oversight and call for a ban on electroshock use.
An event is also planned at Bluestockings Bookstore in New York City. Many of the scheduled protests are listed at ECTjustice.com with the locations, times, and contact information. This site also provides information and resources regarding electroshock. Some of the countries planning events on May 16th include Argentina, Australia, Uruguay, Canada, Chile, England, and Ireland.
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