Irving Kirsch Quotes

United States, Researcher
March 7, 1943

Irving Kirsch (born March 7, 1943) is Associate Director of the Program in Placebo Studies and a lecturer in medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is also professor emeritus of psychology at the Universities of Hull and Plymouth in the United Kingdom, and the University of Connecticut in the United States. Kirsch is noted for his research on placebo effects, antidepressants, expectancy, and hypnosis. He is the originator of response expectancy theory, and his analyses of clinical trials of antidepressants have influenced official treatment guidelines in the United Kingdom. He is the author of the 2009 book, The Emperor's New Drugs.

Also known as Lecturer

Depression comes back over time in about 90 percent of people on antidepressants. Studies show that relapses are far less common when people are treated with psychotherapy.

Irving Kirsch
- People
- Time
- Depression
Perhaps 10 percent of patients who are prescribed antidepressants are really benefiting from the drugs' active ingredients.

Irving Kirsch
- Really
- Percent
- Active

There are a variety of techniques to help people change the kind of thinking that leads them to become depressed. These techniques are called cognitive behavioral therapy.

Irving Kirsch
- People
- Thinking
- Help
Nocebos often cause a physical effect, but it's not a physically produced effect. What's the cause? In many cases, it's an unanswered question.

Irving Kirsch
- Question
- Effect
- Often
If doctors just spent more time with their patients so they felt more reassured, that might help.

Irving Kirsch
- Time
- Help
- Doctors
Anything that instills a sense of hope will at least temporarily help treat depression.

Irving Kirsch
- Help
- Hope
- Depression
Psychotherapy works, and some types of therapy have been shown to be much more effective than antidepressants over the long run.

Irving Kirsch
- Long
- Run
- Therapy
I do a lot of research on the placebo effect, not just in depression but in irritable bowel syndrome, pain, arthritis of the knee, migraine, asthma.

Irving Kirsch
- Pain
- Depression
- Research

There seem to be many causes of depression. One cause is profound loss, grief. Economic hardship we know is linked to depression. We don't have a full picture.

Irving Kirsch
- Picture
- Depression
- Grief
There seems little reason to prescribe anti-depressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients.

Irving Kirsch
- Reason
- Seems
- Medication
If you're taking an antidepressant, it's working, and you're not experiencing side effects, go on taking it. But if it's not working, or not working well enough, or if you have side effects you don't like, talk to your doctor about an alternative approach.

Irving Kirsch
- You
- Talk
- Doctor
The big bulk of the response to antidepressants is the placebo response.

Irving Kirsch
- Response
- Big
- Bulk
One problem I have with drug companies is that they don't make all their data public.

Irving Kirsch
- Problem
- Drug
- Public
Patients who trust their doctors and have a psychological expectation of getting better could trigger a reaction in their body.

Irving Kirsch
- Trust
- Body
- Better

To someone who is not currently on anti-depressants, I would suggest trying other treatments first - for example, psychotherapy.

Irving Kirsch
- Trying
- First
- Example
Perhaps anti-depressants should be best reserved for the very extreme cases and, more importantly, for those who do not respond to alternative forms of interventions.

Irving Kirsch
- Best
- More
- Respond
Antidepressants can have troubling side effects and are addictive for some people.

Irving Kirsch
- People
- Side
- Some People
The one thing we do know is that the chemical imbalance theory - the theory that people get depressed when they don't have enough serotonin in their brain - we know that that's wrong.

Irving Kirsch
- People
- Know
- Brain
The Emperor's New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth. p. 92

Irving Kirsch
The doctor-patient relationship is critical to the placebo effect.

Irving Kirsch
- Relationship
- Effect