Program in Placebo Studies & the Therapeutic Encounter

Neuroscience-based Empathy Training for Clinicians

PiPS — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:46:03 +0000

On May 17, 2012 Helen Riess, MD, Director of the Empathy and Relational Sciences Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, presented a lecture as part of the Placebo Studies Seminar Series.

PiPS is Hiring!

PiPS — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:52:35 +0000

We are seeking a Program Administrator, position to begin July 2012. Please click here for position description and application instructions. We look forward to hearing from you!

Ted Kaptchuk discusses placebos with Heather Kahn

PiPS — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:10:31 +0000

Can A Sugar Pill Help You Feel Better? Surprising New Research on Placebos

Ted Kaptchuk, Director of the Program in Placebo Studies & the Therapeutic Encounter at BIDMC, talks about the role of the placebo to health and describes the surprising results of a recent study which found that patients with irritable bowel syndrome felt better after receiving placebo treatments – even though they knew they were getting sugar pills.

Click here to view video

Pain & Pleasure: the Neuroscience of Subjective Experience [April 26th, 4pm]

PiPS — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:41:33 +0000

PiPS Research Featured in Harvard Health Letter

PiPS — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:29:46 +0000

“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.

Boston Globe: The Placebo Effect and Depression

PiPS — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:15:45 +0000

PiPS Associate Director Irving Kirsch is interviewed in today’s Boston Globe. Read the full article here.

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

PiPS — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:32:37 +0000

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 — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:41:40 +0000

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.

Spring 2012 Placebo Studies Seminar Series

PiPS — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:07:35 +0000

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

PiPS — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:48:06 +0000

[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.