Other Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

The Anti-Electroconvulsive Therapy Movement In Ontario A Description And Analysis, Karen T. Hooper

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Recently, a movement emerged in Ontario which attempted to ban the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a controversial psychiatric treatment. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the anti-ECT movement as a contemporary social movement. The research foci of this study pertained to: 1) the movement’s goals and organizational structure, 2) its resource mobilization efforts, and 3) the political environment in which it evolved. Three sources of data were used: key informant interviews, newspaper archives, and OHIP data depicting aggregate numbers of ECT use in Ontario. The anti-ECT movement developed from the activities of self-help groups within …