UIC provides psychiatric patients with the option of ECT for severe or refractory psychopathology, including catatonia refractory to treatment with benzodiazapines, severe refractory depression or bipolar depression with and without psychotic features, severe refractory psychosis, and severe mood or psychotic disorders in pregnant patients. ECT is done on Monday through Friday mornings under supervision of Drs. Ahluwalia, Cooper, Kilaru, Kurapaty, Petry, Trennepohl, and Valencia.

Residents are required to be directly involved in administration of ECT once weekly when rotating on the inpatient psychiatric unit at UIC. There is occasional involvement with submitting petitions for court-ordered ECT to Mental Health Court for patients who are unable to consent to treatment.

Residents assist with inpatient and outpatient evaluations to determine the appropriateness of ECT as a treatment option for patients with particular psychopathologies, and assist ECT attendings and PGY1 residents with ECT administration.

Electives are available both PGY3/4 for two weeks with Dr. Petry. They consist of discussion of assigned readings on major developments in the field as well as hands on training with the MagVenture device. Every rotator will have the opportunity to learn how to perform a motor threshold on Dr. Petry and then apply this to patients as intake volume allows.