They Gave Me Sugar

Placebo has been painted as something that scientists need to eliminate or overcome if their findings are to be validated. It has been seen as a nuisance, or even a trick perpetrated against an innocent group of people in the interests of science. For some time there have been growing groups of people who have been interested in the Placebo Effect for its own sake. A new science, psycho-neuro-immunology, has emerged that has had a specific interest in the way the immune system works and how the immune system can be triggered internally to support healing. A number of research psychologists have been studying the way in which the body can release morphine internally to overcome pain.

Our understanding of these processes is limited but we are becoming increasingly aware from brain scans that changes occur when we receive messages that are hopeful or pessimistic. These brain pictures are also supported by an understanding of the transmitters that send messages to the brain which also respond to positive and negative external stimuli. When Bander and Grinder developed Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) they studied many different therapists and became aware of how the verbal and body language of the therapist could trigger changes in eye movement, skin tone, posture and demeanour of the client.

This growing knowledge is beginning to give us a picture of ‘placebo’, not just in pharmaceutical research, but in all treatments and social interactions. There is no doubt that antidepressant medication has a scientific basis. The science is not exact, but there is evidence that people benefit from this form of treatment, and different medications seem to benefit different people. We don’t know however to what extent this treatment is enhanced or suppressed by ‘placebo’. The recent research has identified that placebo may be as beneficial as the antidepressant medication, or more so. Caution needs to be exorcised, at this stage, as this is not an argument for giving up antidepressant medication if it is working. It is likely that you are benefiting from the medication and also in the belief that it helps you. You have a double benefit. If however the medication is not helping, and you don’t feel it is any good, then it may be time for you to talked to your GP or psychiatrist about how you can become involved in a more hopeful treatment regime. The same could be said about many treatments for a wide range of conditions.

There has been a tendency to dismiss many complementary therapies as ‘just placebo’. Complementary therapists generally take a holistic approach and spend time with each person getting a clear picture of their situation. This getting to know the person and actively listening to them clearly has therapeutic benefits. As with antidepressant medication the benefits of placebo add to other benefits of the ‘treatment’.

What do these understandings of placebo tell us about recovery and self righting? Where placebo is active in this positive sense it has something to do with the ‘how’ the service or treatment is delivered rather than the ‘what’ the service or treatment is. Recovery stories have led us to similar conclusions and evidence from recovery based practice tells us that people need an environment of hope. They need people who they trust and believe in, they need to understand the benefits that they can accrue from different forms of treatments, and they need to be able to identify how the treatment can suit them and their lifestyle. What we see in placebo are the same elements that emerge from recovery stories and that contribute to our capacity to self right.