Lived experiences of mental health care users towards electroconvulsive therapy

M.Cur.Abstract: Despite its controversial history, where electroconvulsive therapy was viewed as nothing but an instrument of torture, it remains an efficient and safe treatment procedure. According to literature, it has been evolving and modified and is now a common treatment for mental illness. It is frequently preferred and used by psychiatrists for treating mental illness. Reviewed literature indicated that studies were done by doctors proving ECT to be an effective treatment in various mental conditions worldwide, with psycho-pharmacotherapy resistance being the leading indication for its use. In this study, the researcher works in a mental institution in the private sector where ECT is commonly used as treatment. It was, therefore, a field of interest for the researcher to explore the experiences of MHCUs towards ECT and to formulate guidelines from the findings on how psychiatric nurse practitioners can effectively nurse and facilitate these MHCUs’ mental health, pre and post-ECT. The research aimed to explore and describe the lived experiences of MHCUs towards ECT and to formulate guidelines for the psychiatric nurse practitioners to facilitate the mental health of MHCUs who received ECT. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual study design was used. Data was collected through in-depth interviews focusing on the question “tell me about your experiences towards ECT”. Tesch’s method of data analysis and an external coder was used. Data saturation was reached after ten participants were interviewed. From the study findings it was evident the MHCUs who received ECT went through stages of experiences regarding ECT treatment. All the participants started their interviews by telling the researcher how ill and stuck they were within their own mental state. Some of them had already been frequently admitted to mental wellness clinics and suicide risk seemed to be their most common symptom. It seemed they all found themselves in a very challenging state in their lives with their medication and other treatment strategies not pulling them through. It seemed that no other option was left but ECT..