Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

For severe or hard-to-treat depression.

What This Is

A safe, modern, and highly regulated medical procedure that uses brief electrical stimulation to help the brain reset its chemistry and provide relief from severe mental health symptoms.

Who This Is For

  • You have not seen significant improvement from traditional medication or therapy
  • You have a physical intolerance to certain medications
  • You are experiencing severe symptoms like catatonia, mania, or psychosis
  • You need urgent relief from intense depression or suicidal thoughts

How It Can Help

  • Benefit from one of the highest success rates for treatment-resistant conditions
  • Achieve rapid improvements in brain chemistry and daily functioning
  • Receive specialized care from the only provider offering this treatment north of Sacramento
  • Access a safe, scientific alternative when other options have failed

What to Expect (First Visit)

  • A consultation with board-certified psychiatrists to ensure ECT is the right choice for you
  • The procedure is performed under general anesthesia, so you are completely asleep and feel nothing
  • A highly controlled, brief electrical stimulation administered by a physician and psychiatrist
  • Treatment in a fully accredited outpatient surgical center using state-of-the-art equipment

What Ongoing Care Looks Like

  • Close monitoring by medical staff until you are fully awake and comfortable
  • The ability to return home and sleep in your own bed the same night
  • A series of sessions tailored to your specific diagnosis and progress
  • Compassionate, high-quality follow-up to track your recovery and symptom relief

Is This Right for You?

This is a gold-standard option if you are facing severe, complex mental health challenges and require a proven, clinical treatment that goes beyond standard talk therapy or pills.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

ECT Available at Our Chico Location

Electroconvulsive Therapy at Our Chico, CA Office

What is Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)?

We hear this question from patients a lot. Electroconvulsive Therapy has historically had a controversial reputation. That’s because when the treatment was introduced over 70 years ago, patients were not always treated well while undergoing therapy.

The good news is that best practices have evolved significantly since then. Today, ECT is a safe, well-regulated, and highly effective treatment. ECT has a high success rate for patients who have not seen improvements through therapy or medication.  Continue reading to learn more about ECT Treatment in California. 

ECT may be a treatment option if:

  • You don’t experience significant improvement by taking medication.
  • You haven’t had success with other therapeutic approaches
  • You have an intolerance that prevents you from taking medication
  • Your symptoms are severe and accompanied by suicidal thoughts, failure to eat, or psychosis

ECT is typically used for the following conditions:

  • Major depressive disorder (severe depression)
  • Catatonia
  • Mania
  • Schizophrenia
  • Psychosis

At Therapeutic Solutions, we are the only practice in the area that provides ECT. Performed by our board-certified psychiatrists in a fully accredited outpatient surgical center, we administer ECT to patients under general anesthesia.

How ECT Actually Works

In a nutshell, here’s what happens during the procedure. Patients receive general anesthesia, so they aren’t awake during the treatment. There are two doctors in the room, a physician and a psychiatrist, both highly qualified and working with state-of-the-art equipment.

Once the patient is asleep, the doctors administer a small amount of electricity to the scalp. The electricity, which is carefully calibrated to the right level, produces a seizure in the brain, which lasts just a few minutes.

The patient doesn’t feel anything at all, but his or her brain chemistry is changing. These changes can provide significant relief from the symptoms of severe depression, catatonia, mania, schizophrenia, and psychosis. The doctors closely monitor the patient until he or she wakes up again. Patients go home and sleep in their own beds the very same night.

We perform ECT in our fully accredited outpatient surgical center, with doctors who provide the most compassionate, high-quality care. Because ECT is such a highly scientific procedure, Therapeutic Solutions is the only provider in the area north of Sacramento to offer this treatment.

Contact Us Today!

We’re happy to answer any of your questions

Please choose the location you are interested in Visiting: