PiPS to be on 60 Minutes Sunday 2/19/12 7pm

PiPS Associate Director Irving Kirsch and his work examining the role of the placebo response in antidepressants will be featured on 60 Minutes this coming Sunday (February 19) at 7pm. For the preview of Irving’s conversation with Lesley Stahl and viewing information, click here.

Placebos in the Danish Daily Information: “Your Own Medicine”

[Translation]: The placebo effect has always had a bad reputation in modern medicine. It was pure imagination, calcium tablets and at most, proof that a product did not work. But now doctors, scientists, psychiatrists and psychologists are seeking to give it a new and better image. The placebo effect is there and it works, so why not find out how and use it?

Read the original (in Danish) here or a translation here.

Ted and Ira Talk Placebos on Science Friday

From NPR: A placebo can take the form of a sugar pill or even a fake surgery. It’s often used to test the effectiveness of a trial drug. Ted Kaptchuk, director of Harvard University’s Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter, discusses potential applications for the healing power of placebos. Listen (or read the transcript) here.

PiPS on The Kojo Nnamdi Show

The Future of Placebos in Medical Care: New research shows that even when people know they’re taking a placebo, it still makes them feel better. Kojo, PiPS Director Ted Kaptchuk and Wayne Jonas, president and CEO of the Samueli Institute, examine the biological and psychological factors behind the placebo effect and explores how the benefits of placebos could change the future of medical care. Listen here.

PiPS Director Ted Kaptchuk on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)

from MPR: 

From performing acupuncture in a tiny Massachusetts clinic to directing the Program in Placebo Studies and Theraputic Encounters at Harvard, Ted Kaptchuk has worked to understand the placebo effect and its place in medicine. He joins us today to discuss his work and findings. Listen here.