Professor Irving Kirsch has recently created a stir in the media with research indicating the effect of modern anti-depressants may be largely down to the placebo effect. Last September he gave a talk on the subject at a joint conference run by FIH, the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of General Practitioners. We reproduce it here.
As he explains, his findings have implications that extend more widely than clinical decisions about prescribing anti-depressants. Instead of seeing placebo as something that gets in the way of science, are there ways that we can harness its powerful effects in some illnesses whilst maintaining an honest relationship with patients?
