Placebo Effect and Symptom Relief in Psychotherapy

Once more‐On the extraordinary side effects of drugs

“…The ideal drug study design might in fact include a preliminary trial of an active placebo to identify "placebo reactors" whose somatic symptoms markedly increase or decrease before the actual drug study is undertaken. '- 3,7,9,11,14,15 The two "placebo reactor" groups derived in this way ought to be treated as independent groups during the actual clinic trial. The experience to date with this form reinforces early notions that such an instrument should be used for initial evaluation and as aprescreening procedure prior to the administration of psychotropic agents.…”

Placebos: their effectiveness and modes of action

“…This li ne of reasoning has given rise to a quest for the characteristics of the typical placebo responder -a quest wh ich for the most part has proven fruitless. Although it has been reported that placebo reactors are more emotionally dependent (Lasagna, Mosteller, Von Felsinger and Beecher, 1954), extravert (Campbell and Rosenbaum, 1967), neurotic (Gartner, 1961), suggestible (McGlashan, Evans and Orne, 1969) and possess a fair number of other qualities (see Shapiro and Morris, 1978), the overall picture em erging from research in this area is one of conflicting, equivocal and often unreplicated findings (Buckalew, Ross and Starr, 1981). For example, whilst certain investigators have identified high scores on extraversion as predictive of increased placebo responsivity (Black, 1966;Campbell and Rosenbaum, 1967;Gartner, 1961;Knowles and Lucas, 1960), others report the reverse effect with introverts responding most (Luoto, 1964;Morison, Woodmansey and Young, 1961;Thorn, 1962).…”

Plazebos: Medizinhistorische Aspekte und Definitionsansätze

“…Dieser Umstand muß zweifellos überraschen, da zumindest seit dem erwähnten Beitrag von Rosenthai und Frank (71) aus dem Jahre 1956 Plazebos und Plazeboeffekte auch auf den Psychotherapiesektor bezogen und diskutiert werden, wodurch bisherige pharmakologisch orientierte Definitionsansätze in die Krise gerieten. Ging man davon aus, daß Psychotherapie pharmakologisch inert ist, so mußte man sie, insofern sie dennoch therapeutisch effektiv ausfiel, auf der Basis rein pharmakologischer Definitionen als Plazebotherapie ansehen (15,68), was für psychologische Autoren jedoch nicht akzeptabel und sinnvoll erschien (52). A placebo is defined as any therapy or component of therapy that is deliberately used for its nonspecific, psycholo-gieaI, or psychophysiological effect, or that is used for its presumed specific effect, but is without specific activity for the condition being treated.…”