The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) International has released a review of more than 50 psychiatric hospitals across 23 states that administer electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), revealing grossly inadequate risk information on their websites. According to CCHR, none of the facilities have updated their materials to reflect adverse effects the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required for mitigating risks in 2018. The investigation found that tens of thousands of Americans, including children, are not being warned about long-term memory loss and potential brain damage, warranting a government investigation and review of the need to ban ECT devices.
The FDA's 2018 final rule reclassified ECT devices from high-risk Class III to lower-risk Class II for limited uses, partly by requiring patient labeling to warn that "[t]he long-term safety and effectiveness of ECT treatment has not been demonstrated" and recommending formal neuropsychological assessments before and during treatment. However, none of the hospitals report this warning. CCHR's review also shows hospitals failed to warn of permanent memory loss (88% of hospitals), cardiovascular problems (69%), and the right to refuse consent (88%).
ECT delivers up to 460 volts of electricity through the brain to induce a grand mal seizure. Devices were grandfathered in 1976 without premarket approval or clinical trials proving safety and efficacy. The FDA's 2018 rule specified there is no clinical data supporting safety and efficacy for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or mania—which remain Class III—yet 71% of hospitals promote ECT for these conditions. Some also promote it off-label for autism, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and dementia, despite known memory loss effects.
Hospital claims are often misleading, comparing ECT to "jump-starting a car battery" (a jump start uses 12-14 volts, while ECT uses over 460 volts), or stating it is "no worse than going to the dentist." Expert testimony before the Nebraska Supreme Court in 2025 concluded that "ECT causes persistent or permanent memory loss and brain damage in a substantial proportion of recipients—somewhere between 12% and 55%." Neuropathologists equate ECT's effects to traumatic brain injury.
Federal agencies bear much of ECT's costs, even though psychiatrists admit it cannot cure and often requires ongoing "maintenance" treatments. A private insurance analysis found ECT patients hospitalized 4 to 29 days longer than those receiving standard treatment, with additional costs of $5,700 to $52,700. ECT is estimated to be a $5.05–$7.6 billion-a-year industry. Psychiatrists who practice ECT often earn roughly twice the salary of other psychiatrists.
Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International, received ECT in 1975 after a misdiagnosis. She stated, "I was told I needed ECT, that it was the same as jump-starting the heart, and there were no major side effects. It was a lie." Psychiatrist Niall McLaren advises that any psychiatrist who says "'You need ECT' is really only saying, 'I don't know what else to do,'" adding, "No psychiatrist needs to use ECT."
CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Dr. Thomas Szasz, calls for individuals damaged by ECT to report the abuse and encourages families to watch its documentary, Electroshock: Therapy or Torture.
