Abstract
The epistemological soundness of controlled clinical trials is questioned. It is argued that the real effect of therapies cannot be determined by such experiments because there is a significant interaction between the placebo effect and real effect created by the individual therapist and treatment situation which, however, is neglected in controlled clinical trials. This critical standpoint is supported by several pharmacological examples.
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Lindahl, O., Lindwall, L. Is all therapy just a placebo effect?. Metamedicine 3, 255–259 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00882207
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00882207