February 19, 2012 4:22 PM
A Harvard scientist says the drugs used to treat depression are effective, but for many, it's not the active ingredient that's making people feel better. It's the placebo effect.
Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?
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See all 113 CommentsThe studies that have been used to promote prescription medications are all studies that were found to be significant. In the quantitative psychology field this is known for have less than a 5% probability of occurring by chance of sample. Using only the studies that found significant results these antidepressants have been promoted to help relieve anxiety and depression. This is where the problem lies.
The gatekeepers in psychology allow for only significant results to be published. This is why in psychology we enter an experiment looking for a significant result, rather than entering looking for a nonsignificant result (which in my opinion could help discredit confounds and increase sample size for higher external validity). However by not publishing all of these nonsignificant results we are limiting our sample sizes for meta-analysis, literature reviews, and the overall understanding of human behavior. By allowing for insignificant results to be published psychologists will be better able to draw conclusions about experiments because of the larger and truer sample size that comes from all of the experiments.
In essence this idea of antidepressants being ineffective may or may not be true, however the mere fact that there are so many nonsignificant findings that are not published shines light onto a problem with the science of quantitative psychology. Putting so much emphasis on significant findings shows that science is not conducted in a vacuum and is affected by society as a whole, economics and gatekeepers. The findings that are insignificant are just as important as the ones that are significant because they show that the IV does not effect the DV. If an experiment shows antidepressants do not help relieve depression (insignificant finding) it is just as important as if it shows antidepressants do help relieve depression (significant finding).
If further research shows Irving Kirschel to be correct that the active ingredients in antidepressants are ineffective in treating minor to moderate depression, and it is in fact the placebo effect that helps the patients, drug companies have pulled a perfect heist. Drug companies knew the antidepressant was just as probable as the placebo effect on treating depression, but marketed these pills knowing that it didn't matter whether the active ingredients helped or not, they simply had to be known to help to activate a placebo effect in the person. This means drug companies used the placebo effect, found in psychology, to treat patients marketing the placebo as an antidepressant; profiting from selling placebos masked as medicines.
Through a social psychologists perspective this could show how society has made gatekeepers shape psychology, which in turn shaped the society; a progressive pattern ever occurring. Society has made gatekeepers shape psychology by psychologists as a whole seeing importance in only significant results; allowing for drug companies to experiment until they found significant results that could be published. This then shaped society by creating a society that had faith in antidepressant medicines where doctors prescribed pills to help relieve depression.
- Matthew Pageau
Dear 60 Minutes,
This is about your report entitled "Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?"
This report on "depression" is lacking and misleading in too many ways for me list, so I'll keep this brief.
The report is about clinical depression (also termed major depression), however, it never once makes the distinction between clinical depression and the common person's understanding of the word "depression". Since your report makes the case that a placebo is as effective as anti-depressant medication for "mild to moderate (clinical) depression" (which, for clinical depression, is definitely not true), people that have or may develop moderate (clinical) depression are much less likely to seek or submit to anti-depressant therapy. Many of these people will then slip into severe depression before getting the help they so desperately need. Severe depression causes suicide. Thus, there is no doubt in my mind your report will cause thousands suicides.
Please do a follow up report that fills the holes in this report so as to help prevent thousands of suicides.
By the way, I've experienced long term MODERATE, as well as severe clinical depression.
With all due respect,
Joseph F. Vegazo
Pompano Beach, FL
When I first started taking Paxil about ten years ago, the doctor was very inattentive and kept increasing my dose even after I told her I was free from anxiety and panic attacks. I went from being my normal subdued self to being very outgoing. The total change in personality culminated with a DUI, and that led me to quit taking the Paxil altogether. About two years ago, the panic attacks returned with a vengeance and I started on the Paxil again. I now take half as much as I took before, and I have no more panic attacks.
There is definitely a science behind Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. But I also agree that too many doctors are too quick to prescribe drugs for mild depression or anxiety. Every case is unique and should be treated as such, but unfortunately, not all doctors take the time needed to do this.
If a placebo can cause a patient to get better, then perhaps placebos should be tried first in most cases. The problem with this approach however, is that once it becomes known by the general populace that this is the standard approach, the placebo effect is negated if patients know or suspect they are taking a placebo.
An interesting sidenote -- The first drug I took for anxiety required that I get an EKG first because it was known to cause irregular heart rates. This had a "negative" placebo effect and actually caused anxiety over my heartbeat.
Erik
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