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'In light of the fact that tens of millions of Americans--including many children--are taking antidepressants, it's hard not to find Kirsch's account disturbing. Moreover, it makes one wonder about the testing and approval processes for other medications. "For society as a whole, knowledge of what the data on antidepressants really say should be a clarion call," Kirsch says. We can only hope that the call will be heard.' --Scientific American
'A beautifully written, profoundly important book that is sure to shake up the psychiatric establishment and pharmaceutical industry. Many readers will be excited, and probably disturbed, by this brilliant and shocking expose of the lack of efficacy and dangers of the most popular antidepressant medications. The author also reveals the astonishing lack of evidence for the widely believed but poorly validated theory that depression and anxiety result from a chemical imbalance in the brain. This book is long overdue and I hope that people will pay attention. Kudos to Dr. Kirsch!' --David D. Burns M.D., author of Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
'Irving Kirsch brilliantly documents a grim scandal of regulatory and clinical failures concerning antidepressants but also holds out hope in one of the most profound meditations for 50 years on the nature and role of the placebo effect in clinical care' --David Healy, author of Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression
'A terrific account of how optimism, greed and scientific incompetence have misled us about the nature of depression and the drugs we throw at it' -- Druin Burch, author of Taking the Medicine
'A fascinating and disturbing book' -- Literary Review
'A beautifully written, profoundly important book that is sure to shake up the psychiatric establishment and pharmaceutical industry. Many readers will be excited, and probably disturbed, by this brilliant and shocking expose of the lack of efficacy and dangers of the most popular antidepressant medications. The author also reveals the astonishing lack of evidence for the widely believed but poorly validated theory that depression and anxiety result from a chemical imbalance in the brain. This book is long overdue and I hope that people will pay attention. Kudos to Dr. Kirsch!' --David D. Burns M.D., author of Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
'Irving Kirsch brilliantly documents a grim scandal of regulatory and clinical failures concerning antidepressants but also holds out hope in one of the most profound meditations for 50 years on the nature and role of the placebo effect in clinical care' --David Healy, author of Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression
'A terrific account of how optimism, greed and scientific incompetence have misled us about the nature of depression and the drugs we throw at it' -- Druin Burch, author of Taking the Medicine
'A fascinating and disturbing book' -- Literary Review
Book Description
A journey of discovery and an exposé of the pharmaceutical industry.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Irving Kirsch is a well-known authority on hypnotic suggestion and the psychology of the placebo effect. He has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles in mainstream scientific research journals and is the author of several well-received books, and a contributor to chapters in many co-authored volumes. He is currently professor of psychology at the University of Hull. Kirsch's basic goal in this book seems to have been to take the complexity of scientific and statistical debate and present it in plain English in an accessible "popular science" style, so that as many people as possible are able to process the information. In all honesty, I think he has done an absolutely admirable job. He's a genuine expert in this area and yet this book could be read in an afternoon. If some parts are a little tricky, I think that's just the subject matter, I really can't imagine someone doing a better job of explaining the concepts to the layman. The evidence Kirsch presents is undeniably compelling, and has been subjected to critical scrutiny in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He's basically blowing the whistle on an "open secret", or as one commentator put it the pharmaceutical industry's "dirty little secret". If you take antidepressants (of any kind, Kirsch's analysis of the data shows there's not much difference in their effects) or you prescribe these drugs, or you're a researcher, psychological therapist, or just an interested member of the public, I strongly recommend reading this book. It manages to strike the perfect balance between readability and serious scientific debate.
Donald Robertson, author of,
The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy
The Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid the Father of Hypnotherapy
The Practice of Cognitive-Behavioural Hypnotherapy
Donald Robertson, author of,
The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy
The Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid the Father of Hypnotherapy
The Practice of Cognitive-Behavioural Hypnotherapy
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Quite a disturbing book,in its undermining of the 'depression business' and it is a very big business. Very well written demolition job of the chemical imbalance theories. He examines the evidence for anti depressants forensically and finds some worrying signs of science being side tracked by profit. He raises important points about the power of placebo's and unlike many psychologists admits the talking therapies are just as dependant on the placebo effect as the tablets are.Raises a lot of important questions about the mental illness industry and modern evidence based practice.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book is long overdue and almost certainly has relevance beyond the class of pharmaceuticals ( antidepressants) that it treats. It provides a disturbing insight into the relationship between drug companies, the regulators and the academic establishment that is so dependent upon funding from these bodies. It demonstrates that antidepressants are no more than enhanced placebos but with nasty side effects. The work of the author is grounded in conventional 'scientific' method, which makes the failure of the authoritative bodies to adequately respond most disconcerting. The book has considerable implications for the validity of the conventional medical model and the assumed mind/body separation upon which it is based. My only criticism is that it asserts the effectiveness of psychological therapies. This will allow critics to divert attention from the main contribution which is the ineffectiveness and dangers inherent in pharmaceutical therapies. Like many, after attaining two degrees in psychology and beginning to study for a third, i remain unconvinced that CBT is the panacea Lord Layard seems to think it is.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A real eye opener
An intriguing thought provoking book. Speaking as someone suffering from Bi Polarity, it was a long time, and many different drugs ago that I became convinced that Psycho... Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Hoskison
A must read for anyone with an interest in the subject of depression...
I loved this book. It is interesting in two ways. First of all, he provides a powerful rebuttal of the purported efficacy and even the whole theory behind antidepressant drugs and... Read more
Published 10 months ago by goingpostal
bookworm
I have not been able to read this book as yet, firstly my youngest son who suffers from manic depression had it to read then my oldest son, who was actually sectioned in a mental... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Ann Carol Langford
Astonishing
A brilliant book. He totally blows the biological model of depression out of the water. Convincing and easy to read. Read more
Published 13 months ago by David
Compelling evidence for the power of placebo
Headline in today's paper... "Recession linked to huge rise in use of antidepressants". It seems that whatever the evidence, there will always be a massive, lucrative market for a... Read more
Published 13 months ago by sinope
Appropriately damning
Whilst Kirsch is obliged to write extensively about his methods, adding very little to the actual argument of the book, his message is so profound that this is readily accepted. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. N. Moffatt
Very enlightening
For those who believe that science has proven that depression is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, then you should read this book.
Published on 25 Oct 2009 by Arch
Lousy
If form wins over content than maybe this book might deserve some consideration. But it doesn't. Author's previous claim to fame was a book on sex therapy and he should have stuck... Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2009
No better than placebo? Sometimes...
Interesting. Very interesting. But should I take his word for it? That's the crux, really. Kirsch says that anti-depressants don't work and he cites studies, reviews and articles... Read more
Published on 12 Sep 2009 by SAP
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