Electroconvulsive Therapy Practice in New Zealand
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 10, 2026
Pupillary Response as Assessment of Effective Seizure Induction by Electroconvulsive Therapy
Published on: April 11, 2019
Mark Wilkinson Fisher1, John Morrison, Paul Anthony Jones
1From the *Counties Manukau District Health Board, Auckland; and †Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to describe the contemporary practice of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in New Zealand.
Methods:
A 53-item questionnaire was sent to all services providing ECT as of December 2015.
Results:
Electroconvulsive therapy was provided by 16 services covering 15 district health boards funded by the New Zealand government. No private facilities provided ECT. All services providing ECT responded to an online survey questionnaire. Rates of ECT utilization were low relative to similar countries. Survey results indicated ECT was practiced to an overall good standard. Several resource and logistical issues potentially contributing to low ECT utilization were identified.
Conclusions:
Electroconvulsive therapy in New Zealand is provided using modern equipment and practices. However, overall rates of utilization remain low, perhaps as a result of controversy surrounding ECT and some resourcing issues.
More Related Videos
09:07Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins
Published on: August 15, 2017
04:29Vagus Nerve Stimulation As an Adjunctive Neurostimulation Tool in Treatment-resistant Depression
Published on: January 7, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:30Electroconvulsive Therapy
01:30Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...