electroconvulsive therapy: Meaning and Definition of

e•lec'tro•con•vul'sive ther'apy

Pronunciation: (i-lek'trō-kun-vul'siv, i-lek"-), [key]
— Psychiatry. Psychiatry.
  1. a treatment for serious mental illnesses, as severe depressive disorders, involving the application to the head of electric current in order to induce a seizure: usually administered after sedatives and muscle relaxants. Abbr.: ECT Also calledCf. shock therapy.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.