ECT, America's Darkest Medical Scandal with ECT Warrior Sarah Price Hancock

Electricity doesn’t care about intent—and when it reaches the human brain, the stakes are high. In this episode, Dr. Teralyn and Therapist Jenn speak with rehabilitation counselor and former professor Sarah Price Hancock, whose injuries following electroconvulsive shock treatment (ECT) turned her into an outspoken advocate. Her story reveals how misdiagnosis, catatonia, and “maintenance ECT” can unfold inside a system with minimal dosing guidelines, limited specialist training, and consent processes that often falter when patients are at their most vulnerable.

Sarah breaks down, in her own words, how high-intensity electrical pulses can disrupt cellular barriers and trigger dramatic shifts in the brain’s environment. She connects these mechanisms to what she experienced firsthand—rapid changes in blood flow, the intense metabolic demands of induced seizures, and the disorienting silence that can follow.

From there, she describes a spectrum of cognitive, sensory, motor, and autonomic challenges that may show up immediately or surface gradually over time.

Her story is both a cautionary look at a little-examined medical practice and a call for deeper transparency, training, and patient-centered consent.