Blog

Valued Patients – In accordance with the April 3rd, 2023 masking guidance by the Washington State Department of Health for the Greater Seattle Area, and in line with policies set forth by Swedish Hospital and the University of Washington, SeattleNTC is recommending, but no longer requiring, masks within our clinics. Beginning June 19, 2023, in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidelines, respiratory data from the county and state and hospital COVID-19 admissions data, masking for patients and visitors will now be optional. Some exceptions apply for patients who are high risk. COVID-19 vaccination is also strongly […]

Dr. Bess was recently featured on the Abundance Alchemist Podcast, discussing the treatment options for depression that SeattleNTC provides, including ECT, other brain stimulation therapies, and Ketamine. He and host Caitlyn Dorsey talk about stigma around chronic mental illness and treatment, media portrayals, and how brain stimulation therapies can help those with treatment resistant depression feel better than just ‘good enough’ and achieve remission. Have a listen! The episode is titled “There Are Other Options With Psychiatrist Dr. Joshua Bess”. You can find it either on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

We are excited to share that Dr. Anna Borisovskaya, SeattleNTC’s Director of ECT Services, has a newly published article in the Journal of ECT, entitled “Postanesthesia Recovery Unit Optimization for Patients With Postictal Agitation Secondary to Electroconvulsive Therapy”. Dr. Borisovskaya states that “this quality improvement project was done at the Seattle VA jointly with Anesthesiology, Psychiatry, and Nursing departments to estimate how often we had to deal with postictal agitation following ECT, and whether we had to adjust the number of nurses working in the PACU, to help with managing this common side effect of ECT. Not surprisingly, we recommended […]

A paper was recently published that reviews the serotonin theory of depression. Media articles have been presenting the findings of this study in a confusing manner, implying that the findings of this paper mean that depression should not be treated with antidepressants. This misunderstanding is because drug companies often present depression in an overly simplistic manner as being caused by low serotonin levels. The paper, by Moncrieff et al. entitled “The Serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence”, makes the case that low serotonin level is likely not the direct cause of depression.  The research presented in […]

Valued Patients – While masking guidance in the Greater Seattle Area is to be updated on March 11, 2022 to no longer require masks in many indoor public spaces, masks are still required at healthcare and medical facilities. We will continue to require our patients to wear standard/disposable surgical masks. Staff will also be required to wear standard/disposable surgical masks or better (i.e., N-95, KN-95). As always, if you have any questions or concerns about our COVID-19 policies, please feel free to give us a call. We appreciate your continued understanding and assistance in keeping all of our patients and […]

Valued patients – We are continuing to work diligently to ensure that SeattleNTC remains a safe place for both you and our staff. As public health recommendations continue to evolve, we have made some changes to our policies and procedures: All our clinic’s lobbies, treatment rooms, and offices are now equipped with air purifiers. Staff will be required to wear an N95, KN95, or KF94 mask while in clinic. Our staff is also required to be fully vaccinated, including the booster shot if they are eligible. Patient will be required to wear a standard (disposable) surgical/medical mask, N95, KN95, or […]

A new virtual ECT Support Group is available starting November 12th, 2020. The group will meet every Thursday evening from 6:30pm to 8pm and is open to anyone who has received ECT or is considering ECT. This is not limited to SeattleNTC or Swedish patients only. However, family members and observers are not permitted. Laurie Maxwell, a NAMI-trained facilitator, will be leading the group. Julie Paladin and Megan Clark will be working with her as support facilitators. Participants will need to register for each session they are going to attend. Please follow this link to register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAtfuGvqjwuHNfoLdy7RLzVnVq8SY7wRdYq      

Valued patients – It’s flu season! We continue to work diligently to ensure that SeattleNTC remains a safe place to receive essential healthcare. As public health recommendations continue to evolve, particularly for medical settings, please note the following additional policies: patients or staff exhibiting the symptoms associated with COVID-19 are required to get tested for COVID-19. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, please stay home. If you are unsure, please call our office prior to coming in person. We continue to screen patient and staff temperatures prior to entry to the clinic. We will need to send […]

Valued patients – We continue to work diligently to ensure that SeattleNTC remains a safe place to receive essential healthcare. As public health recommendations continue to evolve, particularly for medical settings, please note the following additional policies: All staff and patients must wear a mask while in the clinic, in order to reduce the likelihood of spread of the novel coronavirus. If you do not have a mask of your own, we can provide one for you to reuse during your visits to our clinic. In order to continue to minimize the number of people who need to be on-site at […]