Professor John Read
@profjohnread.bsky.social
Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of East London
(views are my own)
Chair, International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
www.iipdw.org
Author, with Pete Sanders, “A Straight Talking Introduction to the Causes of Mental Health Problems”
(views are my own)
Chair, International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
www.iipdw.org
Author, with Pete Sanders, “A Straight Talking Introduction to the Causes of Mental Health Problems”
Pinned
A Survey of 1144 ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Does ECT Work?
The last placebo-controlled ECT trial for depression occurred in 1985. While awaiting trials that meet today's standards of evidence-based medicine, this paper presents the responses, to an online su...
dx.doi.org
First paper from our international ECT survey just out.
On all 5 efficacy measures most recipients, and most relatives, reported it either made no difference or made things worse. Some were helped though.
Thanks to all 1,144 who completed the survey.
dx.doi.org/10.1111/inm....
On all 5 efficacy measures most recipients, and most relatives, reported it either made no difference or made things worse. Some were helped though.
Thanks to all 1,144 who completed the survey.
dx.doi.org/10.1111/inm....
Reposted by Professor John Read
#EmotionalWellbeing
⚡️research is so flawed/inconclusive that #ECT wld have..no chance of obtaining #MHRA approval in the #UK/ #FDA in #USA, if introduced today⚡️ @profjohnread.bsky.social
🚨 #ECT mainly given to older women, 1/3 receiving it against their will🚨
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
⚡️research is so flawed/inconclusive that #ECT wld have..no chance of obtaining #MHRA approval in the #UK/ #FDA in #USA, if introduced today⚡️ @profjohnread.bsky.social
🚨 #ECT mainly given to older women, 1/3 receiving it against their will🚨
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Electroconvulsive therapy may have more adverse effects than thought
Study calls for depression treatment to be suspended for more research after reports of heart problems and emotional blunting
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:20 PM
#EmotionalWellbeing
⚡️research is so flawed/inconclusive that #ECT wld have..no chance of obtaining #MHRA approval in the #UK/ #FDA in #USA, if introduced today⚡️ @profjohnread.bsky.social
🚨 #ECT mainly given to older women, 1/3 receiving it against their will🚨
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
⚡️research is so flawed/inconclusive that #ECT wld have..no chance of obtaining #MHRA approval in the #UK/ #FDA in #USA, if introduced today⚡️ @profjohnread.bsky.social
🚨 #ECT mainly given to older women, 1/3 receiving it against their will🚨
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Professor John Read
The IIPDW is a UK charity. We rely solely on the support of individuals like you to keep going. If you share our vision of a world where everyone has access to informed consent & safe, supported withdrawal, please consider donating on our website youtu.be/bVhcDhf62u8 Thank you.
IIPDW Fundraising Video 2025
YouTube video by Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
youtu.be
November 6, 2025 at 5:11 PM
The IIPDW is a UK charity. We rely solely on the support of individuals like you to keep going. If you share our vision of a world where everyone has access to informed consent & safe, supported withdrawal, please consider donating on our website youtu.be/bVhcDhf62u8 Thank you.
A timely reminder?
Cognitive Dissonance, Collective Trauma, and the Middle East | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyc...
Cognitive Dissonance, Collective Trauma, and the Middle East | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyc...
Cognitive Dissonance, Collective Trauma, and the Middle East
Considering cognitive dissonance and intergenerational trauma may help avoid one-sided responses to the tragedy in the Middle East.
www.psychologytoday.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:40 PM
A timely reminder?
Cognitive Dissonance, Collective Trauma, and the Middle East | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyc...
Cognitive Dissonance, Collective Trauma, and the Middle East | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyc...
“I Can’t Remember a Single Day”: New Survey Shows Disastrous Memory Effects of ECT - Mad In America www.madinamerica.com/2025/09/i-ca...
“I Can’t Remember a Single Day”: New Survey Shows Disastrous Memory Effects of ECT
114 people told us they lost vital memories from before ECT, like getting married, birthdays, and family events.
www.madinamerica.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:17 PM
“I Can’t Remember a Single Day”: New Survey Shows Disastrous Memory Effects of ECT - Mad In America www.madinamerica.com/2025/09/i-ca...
“I Can’t Remember a Single Day”: New Survey Shows Disastrous Memory Effects of ECT - Mad In America www.madinamerica.com/2025/09/i-ca...
“I Can’t Remember a Single Day”: New Survey Shows Disastrous Memory Effects of ECT
114 people told us they lost vital memories from before ECT, like getting married, birthdays, and family events.
www.madinamerica.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:15 PM
“I Can’t Remember a Single Day”: New Survey Shows Disastrous Memory Effects of ECT - Mad In America www.madinamerica.com/2025/09/i-ca...
Survey Finds Most ECT Patients Suffer Long-term Memory Loss | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/psyc...
Survey Finds Most ECT Patients Suffer Long-term Memory Loss
In our international survey, 71 percent of ECT patients reported reduced ability to retain new information, and 80 percent reported loss of autobiographical memories of events before ECT.
www.psychologytoday.com
September 24, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Survey Finds Most ECT Patients Suffer Long-term Memory Loss | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/psyc...
Survey Finds Most ECT patients Suffer Long-term Memory Loss | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/psyc...
Log in | Psychology Today United Kingdom
www.psychologytoday.com
September 23, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Survey Finds Most ECT patients Suffer Long-term Memory Loss | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/psyc...
80 Years On, Do We Know If Electroconvulsive Therapy Works? | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyc...
80 Years On, Do We Know If Electroconvulsive Therapy Works?
My first contact with ECT was in 1973 on a Bronx psychiatric ward, where I worked as a naïve nursing aide. I ended up throwing up in the car park.
www.psychologytoday.com
September 5, 2025 at 6:06 AM
80 Years On, Do We Know If Electroconvulsive Therapy Works? | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyc...
Reposted by Professor John Read
“…."Our international survey, the largest ever conducted, seems to confirm audits of ECT leaflets, in Australia and the U.K., which found that the principle of informed consent is being consistently breached," the group wrote in the Journal of Medical Ethics…” #biorisks
Electroconvulsive Therapy Patients Often Not Fully Informed of Risks, Study Suggests www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/g...
Electroconvulsive Therapy Patients Often Not Fully Informed of Risks, Study Suggests
Researchers question whether principle of informed consent is being breached
www.medpagetoday.com
August 17, 2025 at 8:51 PM
“…."Our international survey, the largest ever conducted, seems to confirm audits of ECT leaflets, in Australia and the U.K., which found that the principle of informed consent is being consistently breached," the group wrote in the Journal of Medical Ethics…” #biorisks
Electroconvulsive Therapy Patients Often Not Fully Informed of Risks, Study Suggests www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/g...
Electroconvulsive Therapy Patients Often Not Fully Informed of Risks, Study Suggests
Researchers question whether principle of informed consent is being breached
www.medpagetoday.com
August 17, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Electroconvulsive Therapy Patients Often Not Fully Informed of Risks, Study Suggests www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/g...
ECT: New Studies Detail Harms, Lack of Efficacy, Lack of Informed Consent - Mad In America www.madinamerica.com/2025/08/ect-...
ECT: New Studies Detail Harms, Lack of Efficacy, Lack of Informed Consent
Evidence from a huge survey of what people who have received ECT really think about what they were told, and about how ECT affected them.
www.madinamerica.com
August 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
ECT: New Studies Detail Harms, Lack of Efficacy, Lack of Informed Consent - Mad In America www.madinamerica.com/2025/08/ect-...
Medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) exaggerated while cons downplayed, survey findings suggest | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) exaggerated while cons downplayed, survey findings suggest
The medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are being exaggerated while the risks are being downplayed, suggest the findings of a survey on the type of information patients and their relatives...
www.eurekalert.org
August 17, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) exaggerated while cons downplayed, survey findings suggest | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
ECT: New Studies Detail Harms, Lack of Efficacy, Lack of Informed Consent - Mad In America www.madinamerica.com/2025/08/ect-...
ECT: New Studies Detail Harms, Lack of Efficacy, Lack of Informed Consent
Evidence from a huge survey of what people who have received ECT really think about what they were told, and about how ECT affected them.
www.madinamerica.com
August 16, 2025 at 11:14 AM
ECT: New Studies Detail Harms, Lack of Efficacy, Lack of Informed Consent - Mad In America www.madinamerica.com/2025/08/ect-...
Medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) exaggerated while cons downplayed, survey findings suggest | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) exaggerated while cons downplayed, survey findings suggest
The medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are being exaggerated while the risks are being downplayed, suggest the findings of a survey on the type of information patients and their relatives...
www.eurekalert.org
August 15, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) exaggerated while cons downplayed, survey findings suggest | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Article about our international ECT survey
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/022a099...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/022a099...
Electric shock therapy ‘ineffective and can erase memories’
Study finds majority of patients polled say medical procedure made their quality of life worse
www.telegraph.co.uk
August 12, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Article about our international ECT survey
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/022a099...
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/022a099...
A Survey of 1144 ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Does ECT Work? - Read - 2025 - International Journal of Mental Health Nursing - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
A Survey of 1144 ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Does ECT Work?
The last placebo-controlled ECT trial for depression occurred in 1985. While awaiting trials that meet today's standards of evidence-based medicine, this paper presents the responses, to an online su....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 12, 2025 at 7:16 AM
A Survey of 1144 ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Does ECT Work? - Read - 2025 - International Journal of Mental Health Nursing - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
A Survey of 1144 ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Does ECT Work? - Read - 2025 - International Journal of Mental Health Nursing - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
A Survey of 1144 ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Does ECT Work?
The last placebo-controlled ECT trial for depression occurred in 1985. While awaiting trials that meet today's standards of evidence-based medicine, this paper presents the responses, to an online su...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 11, 2025 at 10:50 PM
A Survey of 1144 ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Does ECT Work? - Read - 2025 - International Journal of Mental Health Nursing - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
First paper from our international ECT survey just out.
On all 5 efficacy measures most recipients, and most relatives, reported it either made no difference or made things worse. Some were helped though.
Thanks to all 1,144 who completed the survey.
dx.doi.org/10.1111/inm....
On all 5 efficacy measures most recipients, and most relatives, reported it either made no difference or made things worse. Some were helped though.
Thanks to all 1,144 who completed the survey.
dx.doi.org/10.1111/inm....
A Survey of 1144 ECT Recipients, Family Members and Friends: Does ECT Work?
The last placebo-controlled ECT trial for depression occurred in 1985. While awaiting trials that meet today's standards of evidence-based medicine, this paper presents the responses, to an online su...
dx.doi.org
August 11, 2025 at 3:52 PM
First paper from our international ECT survey just out.
On all 5 efficacy measures most recipients, and most relatives, reported it either made no difference or made things worse. Some were helped though.
Thanks to all 1,144 who completed the survey.
dx.doi.org/10.1111/inm....
On all 5 efficacy measures most recipients, and most relatives, reported it either made no difference or made things worse. Some were helped though.
Thanks to all 1,144 who completed the survey.
dx.doi.org/10.1111/inm....
Reposted by Professor John Read
This is what they are called, but there is no proof of neurological mechanisms for these conditions
March 28, 2025 at 1:25 PM
This is what they are called, but there is no proof of neurological mechanisms for these conditions
Reposted by Professor John Read
What we call mental health conditions do not have established neurobiological causes unless you include dementia or learning disability
March 23, 2025 at 7:45 PM
What we call mental health conditions do not have established neurobiological causes unless you include dementia or learning disability
Reposted by Professor John Read
It's of course just human to forget about having a few conflicts of interest with pharma 😉
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
@joannamoncrieff.bsky.social @markhoro.bsky.social @profjohnread.bsky.social
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
@joannamoncrieff.bsky.social @markhoro.bsky.social @profjohnread.bsky.social
August 3, 2025 at 4:57 PM
It's of course just human to forget about having a few conflicts of interest with pharma 😉
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
@joannamoncrieff.bsky.social @markhoro.bsky.social @profjohnread.bsky.social
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
@joannamoncrieff.bsky.social @markhoro.bsky.social @profjohnread.bsky.social
Reposted by Professor John Read
Excellent summary of the ongoing controversy about antidepressant withdrawal issues by @joannamoncrieff.bsky.social
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
Antidepressant Withdrawal: Nothing to Worry About?
Recent reviews claim antidepressant withdrawal is clinically insignificant, but they are based on flawed and short-term studies. Minimizing withdrawal problems is worrying.
www.psychologytoday.com
August 2, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Excellent summary of the ongoing controversy about antidepressant withdrawal issues by @joannamoncrieff.bsky.social
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
Reposted by Professor John Read
Polypharmacy is a huge issue in psychiatric care. I see it too often, mostly as expression of helplessness. Adding more meds is a common reaction, considering iatrogenic harms of (poly)meds less so.
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
‘Combat Cocktail’: How America Overmedicates Veterans
To treat PTSD, the Department of Veterans Affairs put hundreds of thousands of patients on multiple streams of powerful drugs that put them at risk of suicide.
www.wsj.com
August 2, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Polypharmacy is a huge issue in psychiatric care. I see it too often, mostly as expression of helplessness. Adding more meds is a common reaction, considering iatrogenic harms of (poly)meds less so.
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Reposted by Professor John Read
1. This is an incredibly important paper and I retweet the thread again for two reasons. First, simply because it is such a good paper. Second, because it is necessary to judge the true efficacy of antidepressants (ADs) for other applications beyond depression, not covered in this paper.
1. Antidepressants/-psychotics "appears substantially more effective when the trial is sponsored by that drug’s manufacturer, compared with the same drug tested against the same combination of drugs but without sponsorship."
Relates to novelty-bias, too...
Relates to novelty-bias, too...
August 2, 2025 at 1:06 PM
1. This is an incredibly important paper and I retweet the thread again for two reasons. First, simply because it is such a good paper. Second, because it is necessary to judge the true efficacy of antidepressants (ADs) for other applications beyond depression, not covered in this paper.
Reposted by Professor John Read
"Maybe admitting that a widely used treatment, like antidepressants, has messed up thousands of lives is too much to contemplate" #pharmsky #medsky #madsky
Excellent summary of the ongoing controversy about antidepressant withdrawal issues by @joannamoncrieff.bsky.social
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/chem...
Antidepressant Withdrawal: Nothing to Worry About?
Recent reviews claim antidepressant withdrawal is clinically insignificant, but they are based on flawed and short-term studies. Minimizing withdrawal problems is worrying.
www.psychologytoday.com
August 2, 2025 at 5:11 PM