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Most relatives of ECT recipents reported that their loved one experienced memory loss after treatment.

The memory loss usually lasted more than three years, which suggests it is permanent.

A minority reported that ECT helped, but most thought it either made no difference or made things worse.

Most relatives reported negative effects on their relationships with the ECT recipients, and on themselves.

I have previously discussed the responses of patients to our international survey on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), in relation to efficacy, memory loss, other adverse effects, information given to patients and families, the self-reported causes of the problems for which ECT was given, and women's experiences with ECT.

This article1 is different. It presents the responses of 286 relatives and friends of the ECT recipients, from 22 countries, and has been published in the British Psychological Society’s peer-reviewed journal Psychology and Psychotherapy.

While 45 percent of respondents reported an improvement in the specific problem for which ECT had been prescribed, 42 percent thought it had made the problem worse.

Sixty-one percent reported that the treatment diminished the patients’ overall quality of life, and 34 percent believed the treatment had caused brain damage.

On three measures of memory, between 51 percent and 73 percent reported memory loss in their relative or friend, while 8 percent to 11 percent reported memory improvement. For example, the majority (73 percent) reported retrograde amnesia (loss of life memories). Of these, 70 percent said the loss had lasted more than three years, which means it was probably permanent. Improved memory as a result of ECT was reported by 7 percent. Reports of memories erased by ECT included:

"Birth of youngest child several months prior to ECT"

"Death of her father"

"Arrival of grandchildren and great-grandchildren"

"Meeting husband and wedding"

"Birthdays and anniversaries (had a perfect recollection before)"

"He didn't remember his professional education and training well enough to remain employed in his field"

Twenty-one of 25 other adverse effects were reported by 50 percent or more of the relatives/friends, including: Difficulty concentrating (79 percent), Fatigue (73 percent), Emotional blunting (73 percent), Loss of independence (72 percent), and Relationship problems (70 percent).

When asked "Has memory loss or any of these other side effects negatively impacted X's relationships with family or friends?" 65 percent responded "yes." The most common types of impacts on relationships were memory-related, followed by emotional blunting. Examples included:

"It’s hard to talk to my mum about things from me growing up, because to hear them say they don’t remember is hard and awkward."

"He had a lot of pride in his intellect and memory, and his inability to recall common events that relatives and friends did created shame and made him less social."

"Loss of emotions. Numbness. Not so communicative like before the ECT."

"Extreme emotional blunting to a degree of being unable to form or maintain relationships."

"Dad was like a zombie after ECT."

Two open questions about the impact of ECT on the patients and on the relatives/friends themselves both elicited about three times as many negative impacts as positive ones. Examples of responses to the statement "Please briefly summarise the impact of ECT on X" included:

"It was extremely life-altering and destroying. It was heartbreaking to witness."

"It destroyed his life."

"She has lost a large chunk of her memory, can’t remember a large period of her life. She had a very high IQ and an amazing memory, so for her to lose part of it is very hard for her."

"The loss of his job that he had worked so hard to attain with his schooling that he had spent time and money for."

"Loss of job, income, driver’s license. Loss of social confidence. Loss of purpose."

"I don’t think it’s all that safe, because it made my cousin more depressed and suicidal."

"He became fearful and lacked interest in things he used to enjoy because he could not remember how to do them and he lost interest in life and tried to commit suicide 2 years later."

"She lost her intelligence, independence, her relationships, and her place in this world."

"She was traumatised by the ECT and felt it was yet another form of male control and abuse where she had no voice."

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In response to "Please briefly summarise the impact of X having ECT on YOURSELF," relatives and friends said:

"I was happy to see life again on her face, but this faded away very fast."

"I am glad to see her out of hospital, but it saddens me that she cannot think clearly and that her autonomy has been so reduced."

"That blank, vacant stare breaks my heart."

"Feeling lonely because husband and I no longer share many memories."

"I have always mourned the loss of my father's joyful personality."

"It was difficult to watch our outgoing son become so lackluster in his personality.…and experiencing his attempt at suicide in our home certainly impacted us."

"It's caused me huge distress seeing my father deteriorate and become a shadow of himself."

"I will need to support her for the rest of her life due to the impact ECT has had on her."

"I feel guilty that I wasn’t able to stop it. I feel like I let her down. I was supposed to protect her."

When asked "Would you want to have ECT yourself, if a psychiatrist thought you needed it?" 72 percent said no.

The responses were, in general, very similar to the responses of the ECT recipients to the same questions. This validates the patients’ experiences of ECT, which can sometimes be dismissed as subjective or unreliable. But the views and experiences of relatives and friends, reported in this largest-ever survey, are important in their own right.

1. Harrop, C., Cunliffe, S., Hancock, S.P., Johnstone, L., Morrison, L., Read, J. (2026). An international survey of the relatives and friends of electroconvulsive therapy recipients. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, published online 22 April.

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