Watch “The Potential of Placebo” a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation promise story

“The placebo effect is people getting better without any active ingredients.” Harvard Medical School’s Ted Kaptchuk, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grantee, cuts across clinical specialties through robust research and specialized technologies, to understand and institutionalize one of the most exciting, and controversial ideas in modern medicine.

Watch the video here.

PiPS on Channel 5 News

Patients get positive results in ‘honest’ placebo study

Excerpt: “Oh, it was awful! You couldn’t leave the house. You were sick all the time,” said Linda Buonanno, who has been plagued by irritable bowel syndrome for 18 years. “Intestinal pains, cramps, bloating, diarrhea, all that. And it’s very difficult.”

From pills to drastic diet changes, she’s tried it all, desperate for relief. But nothing worked until she signed up for a new Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center study.

“They said it’s the placebo effect. It’s mind over matter,” said Buonanno.

To watch the full story, click here.

PiPS Research Featured in Harvard Health Letter

“Putting the Placebo Effect to Work: Rather than dismiss it, we should try to understand the placebo effect and harness it when we can”

The front-cover story of the April 2012 edition of the Harvard Health Letter reviews recent research into the placebo effect, including several studies performed by the PiPS team. Click here to read the article.

60 MINUTES | Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?

PiPS Associate Director Irving Kirsch discusses the placebo effect with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes this past Sunday.

Click here for the video, transcript and the “60 Minutes Overtime” show.

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.