Aims and MethodsTo investigate patients' subjective attitudes to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) a questionnaire was posted to 89 consecutive patients who had received treatment in an ECT department.ResultsFifty-one responses were obtained (57%). Results indicated a high satisfaction with the department and the treatment itself; 44 respondents would or might have ECT again and 35 reported at least a modest improvement with ECT. However, a high rate (60%) of subjective cognitive impairment was reported.Clinical ImplicationsElectroconvulsive therapy can be an acceptable treatment option for patients when administered in an accredited clinic. More research is urgently required to investigate the exact nature of ECT-associated cognitive impairment, in terms of functional deficits, severity and practical importance to patients' lives.

Conflicts of Interest D.M.M. has received speaker's honoraria from MECTA and Otsuka and an honorarium from Janssen for participating in an esketamine advisory board meeting. SAC, SM and GR have no interests to declare.

We found reduced specificity of episodic autobiographical memory in depressed patients before ECT, which persisted at long-term follow-up despite significant improvement in mood. The finding of no detectable retrograde amnesia likely reflects lack of sensitivity of the recent life section of the AMI to detect ECT-induced changes.