Is it the Placebo Effect?

Sometimes complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies are not easily explained in current scientific terms. People may ask if the healing effects of those CAM therapies are nothing more than the placebo effect. According to The Skeptic's Dictionary, "[t]he placebo effect is the measurable, observable, or felt improvement in health or behavior not attributable to a medication or invasive treatment that has been administered."^[1] The placebo effect is a controversial subject that is only beginning to be studied in detail.

As for CAM therapies, I can't exactly speak for all of them at once since there are so many of them and they are all so different. Just like every person must be treated like an individual when it comes to health, so should each CAM therapy. It is possible that healing one experiences from certain CAM approaches is at least in part due to the placebo effect. If you view the placebo effect as some sort of scam or as something that's robbing you of the "real" effects you could be experiencing from some other therapy, then you might naturally reject CAM altogether.

Consider a different view of the placebo effect. What if it represents the fact that there is scientific evidence of the power of the mind in healing? In some cases, a treatment or practice that demonstrates the placebo effect is actually helping the person heal themselves. Since as a holistic health practitioner, one of my main goals is to help a person activate his or her own body's ability to heal itself, the placebo effect tells me that the person's thoughts and beliefs are as important, if not more so, than what tool we use to activate that healing. While this does not remove the responsibility to find the most effective, safe and appropriate CAM practices in working with a person, it opens up the possibilities.

I found an interesting thought about the placebo effect that resonated with me:

It may be, then, that the simplest and least ethically hazardous way to capitalize on the placebo effect is to acknowledge that medicine isn’t just a set of approved treatments--it’s also a ritual, with symbolism and meaning that are key to its efficacy.^[2]

If you want to investigate how you might be able to believe your way to better health, invest in a Personal Health Consultation from Know Thy Health.

[1] Robert T. Carroll. “Placebo effect.” Accessed August 26, 2010. http://www.skepdic.com/placebo.html.
[2] Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow. “The magic cure.” The Boston Globe, May 9, 2010. Accessed August 26, 2010. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/05/09/the_magic_cure/?page=full.