electroconvulsive therapy

noun

: electroshock therapy

Examples of electroconvulsive therapy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, that was later revoked, and he was ordered to receive neuroleptic medications and undergo electroconvulsive therapy. —Tom Olsen, Twin Cities, 19 June 2025

While Daisy was pregnant with Rose, she was treated with electroconvulsive therapy for her deep depression, which some believe led to Rose’s abnormal behavior as a child, often staring into space or banging her head, The Times reported. —Alex Gurley, People.com, 16 May 2025

Her openness about her challenges, including electroconvulsive therapy for depression, created space for public discussions about mental health when such conversations were rare. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2025

Shock therapy, also called electroconvulsive therapy or ECT, is a treatment approach for mental health conditions. —Janelle McSwiggin, Msn, Health, 11 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for electroconvulsive therapy

• brachytherapy
• chemotherapy
• cryotherapy
• hydrotherapy
• hypnotherapy
• monotherapy
• phototherapy
• psychotherapy
• sclerotherapy
• immunotherapy
• pharmacotherapy
• physiotherapy

Medical Definition

electroconvulsive therapy

noun

: the treatment of mental illness and especially depression by the application of electric current to the head of a usually anesthetized patient that induces unconsciousness and convulsive seizures in the brain

—abbreviation ECT

called also electric shock, electric shock therapy, electroshock therapy