The Emperor's New Drugs ─ Exploding the Antidepressant Myth

Clinical psychologist Kirsch (U. of Hull, UK, and U. of Connecticut) draws on his research to relate how most improvements shown by depressed patients are due to the placebo effect, not antidepressants. He describes how he and one of his postgraduate students investigated the placebo effect in depression, which transformed his views about antidepressants, concluding that they don't work. He details how many patients improved when given a placebo and how clinical trials that failed to show a benefit from taking antidepressants were withheld from publication. He also addresses the chemical-imbalance theory and lack of scientific evidence to support it, and alternatives to medication and the evidence for their effectiveness, to help patients and clinicians become better informed when making treatment choices. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)