The electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an ancient treatment used in psychiatry but sometimes has been forgotten, considered outdated. Since 2008 with the new electroconvulsive protocol in use elaborated in the Hospital of Zamudio, this therapy is part of the usual clinical practice, mainly in the medium stay unit.

The principal aim of this project is to describe the profile and the programs of ECT sessions given to hospitalized patients in a medium stay unit during 2009.

19 of the 344 patients hospitalized in this unit in 2009 need electroshock therapy. Each patient received an initial amount of sessions, in average 5-6, considered as part of what is commonly known as Treatment electrotherapy (sessions required to psychopathological stabilization or remission).

Most of this patients (68,42%) required Maintenance electrotherapy (sessions needed to consolidate the clinical improvement and stabilization achieved with the Treatment electrotherapy) but 15,38% of them refused to continue with the sessions and the treatment. During maintenance electrotherapy, sessions are initially weekly and gradually less frequent.

The profile of the standard patient receiving ECT is woman, between 40 and 65 years old and who suffers from Recurrent Major Depression.

Since the protocol established in 2008, a year has been enough to normalized the use of ECT in a medium stay unit.

ECT is a personalized therapy with different applications in each patient, although the indications and objectives followed are almost the same and are protocolized, because the response, the adverse effects etc have to be taken into account.