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HEAD TO HEAD:ECT is a human rights issue: no one should be forced to undergo such a treatment and informed consent should be the minimum legal standard, writes Basil Miller. But Consilia Walshargues that ECT has come a long way from the old media caricature. Properly targeted and responsibly administered, it has been shown to treat severe depression and save lives.

PSYCHIATRY IS a very divided profession. The medical argument on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has continued since its introduction, and will continue as long as it is permitted. What is at issue in the private member's Bill currently before the Seanad is not treatments, but the legal protection afforded to users of our mental health services. As Dr Mary Donnelly stated in her letter to The Irish Times of July 2nd: "The protections afforded to patients under the Mental Health Act 2001 . . . are inadequate" because "section 59 of the Mental Health Act 2001 allows ECT to be administered to 'unwilling' patients regardless of their legal competence."