The Placebo Effect in Manual Therapy

The Placebo Response in Manual Therapy presents a knowledge-based approach to augmenting your patients’ own healing systems. It explains how to:

• maximize the placebo response in your patients, using knowledge from 60 years of research
• “turn on” an individual’s inner healing system, even with challenging patients
• increase your success rate and your patients’ health outcomes within your current methods of practice
• use the client-practitioner relationship as a ‘technique’ for improving health outcomes in your patients based on research concerning the therapeutic encounter.

The placebo effect of touch is an important factor in the effectiveness of all manual therapy treatments. However most manual therapists are not taught how to make use of the placebo response and many remain unaware of its potential and unsure of how to harness it as part of their therapy. This book is for them.

Table of Contents

Forewords Leon Chaitow Ruth Werner Preface Acknowledgements Introduction to the book Part 1 Understanding the Placebo Effect Definition of a Placebo Enter the Placebo A Historical Perspective The Nature of Belief Body/Mind Medicine Performance of the Placebo Do Placebo Effects Last? Objective Results from Placebos The Nocebo Criticism of the Placebo Effect Biological Pathways and Theories The Placebo Responder Ethics and Informed Consent Part 2 Concepts and Application Introduction to Part 2 Conditioning Expectancy Motivation and Desire Trust The Power of Listening Feelings of Care and Concern from the Practitioner Establishment of a Feeling of Control Reducing your Patients’ Anxiety Levels Receiving Adequate Explanation of the Pathology The Narrative: How We Make Sense of the World Acceptance of the Mystery of Healing Certainty of the Patient Time Spent By the Practitioner Use of Ritual The Clinician’s Persona Clinical/Healing Environment Practitioner’s Use of Humor Helping Patients Maximize Their Own Healing Response Conclusions Part 3 Perspectives on Healing Introduction to Part 3 Where Do We Go from Here? Quantum Healing Appendix: Developing Strong Social Support References and Further Reading Index