[Cognitive appraisal and psychic comfort of patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy]

In spite of the constant development of pharmacotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains highly efficient form of therapy in psychiatry. Among the interesting aspects connected with ECT we can mention patients' attitude and their psychic comfort. Since many patients undergoing ECT treat the situation as stressful, the research being done has been situated in a relational stress paradigm. The obtained results confirm the assumed direction of relations between cognitive appraisal of a situation and the experienced emotions. The way in which patients undergoing ECT perceive their situation substantially influences the level of their psychic comfort. Persons, who make the cognitive appraisal of a situations as a challenge, are much more efficient on the level of the experienced emotions than those who appraise a situation as a threat. It makes us pay particular attention to patients' beliefs connected with ECT. The adequate psychoeducational influence based upon creating a motivation for treatment, forming an ability of concentrating attention at positive aspects of a situation and possible benefits may contribute to the more positive reception of ECT and thus to increasing patients' psychic comfort during the treatment process.