This article is a contribution to the discussion on the permissibility of E.C.T. It is based on the supposition that the E.C.T. controversy is part of the continued conflictmedical model/social model in psychiatry, making the whole discussion at least partly irrational.
The need is stressed to uncover the discussion from the irrational arguments or at least to make a gradation of arguments. In the light of some developments in psychiatry, such as the increasing participation of other professions, the decreasing attention to neurology in psychiatry training, the role of the public opinion etc., the author illustrates his point of view.