Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is a physical treatment used for a range of mental illnesses. ECT was introduced in 1938 and has since undergone dramatic changes so that modern ECT no longer resembles the early treatment often portrayed in the media. Historically, ECT was given without anesthesia and for conditions that would not be suitable for ECT treatment today. Modern ECT treatment involves stimulating the brain, using a carefully controlled current to induce a seizure while the patient is unconscious, under a short acting general anesthetic and muscle relaxant.