SynthesisThe journal of ECT2011
A systematic review of the combined use of electroconvulsive therapy and psychotherapy for depression.
Synthesis in The journal of ECT, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Major Depressive Disorder: Section 4. Neurostimulation Treatments.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2016Pooled it
- Comparing the Neurocognitive Effects of Right Unilateral Ultra-Brief Pulse Electroconvulsive Therapy and Magnetic Seizure Therapy for the Treatment of Major Depressive Episode.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2025Trial
- Neurobiological Mechanisms of Electroconvulsive Therapy: Molecular Perspectives of Brain Stimulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Estimating Optimal Treatment Rule for Major Depressive Disorder Using Penalized Regression Method.Oman medical journal · 2024Article
- Neuromodulation of Eating Disorders: A Review of Underlying Neural Network Activity and Neuromodulatory Treatments.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy as a potential first-choice treatment in treatment-resistant depression (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2021Review
- EffECTively Treating Depression: A Pilot Study Examining Manualized Group CBT as Follow-Up Treatment After ECT.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Leveraging Neuroplasticity to Enhance Adaptive Learning: The Potential for Synergistic Somatic-Behavioral Treatment Combinations to Improve Clinical Outcomes in Depression.Biological psychiatry · 2019Review
- The Relationship between Symptom Relief and Psychosocial Functional Improvement during Acute Electroconvulsive Therapy for Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2017Observational
- Computer-Assisted Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Prevent Relapse Following Electroconvulsive Therapy.The journal of ECT · 2017Article
- Multifactorial determinants of the neurocognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy.The journal of ECT · 2014Review
- Individual differences in transcranial electrical stimulation current density.Journal of biomedical research · 2013Article
- Kalirin, a key player in synapse formation, is implicated in human diseases.Neural plasticity · 2012Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveElectroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for severe major depressive disorder. However, after acute-phase treatment and initial remission, relapse rates are significant. Strategies to prolong remission include continuation phase ECT, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, or their combinations. This systematic review synthesizes extant data regarding the combined use of psychotherapy with ECT for the treatment of patients with severe major depressive disorder and offers the hypothesis that augmenting ECT with depression-specific psychotherapy represents a promising strategy for future investigation.
methodsThe authors performed 2 independent searches in PsychInfo (1806-2009) and MEDLINE (1948-2009) using combinations of the following search terms: Electroconvulsive Therapy (including ECT, ECT therapy, electroshock therapy, EST, and shock therapy) and Psychotherapy (including cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, group, psychodynamic, psychoanalytic, individual, eclectic, and supportive). We included in this review a total of 6 articles (English language) that mentioned ECT and psychotherapy in the abstract and provided a case report, series, or clinical trial. We examined the articles for data related to ECT and psychotherapy treatment characteristics, cohort characteristics, and therapeutic outcome.
resultsAlthough research over the past 7 decades documenting the combined use of ECT and psychotherapy is limited, the available evidence suggests that testing this combination has promise and may confer additional, positive functional outcomes.
conclusionsSignificant methodological variability in ECT and psychotherapy procedures, heterogeneous patient cohorts, and inconsistent outcome measures prevent strong conclusions; however, existing research supports the need for future investigations of combined ECT and psychotherapy in well-designed, controlled clinical studies. Depression-specific psychotherapy approaches may need special adaptations in view of the cognitive effects of ECT.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.