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The Emperor’s New Drugs

Exploding the Antidepressant Myth

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The Emperor’s New Drugs

By: Irving Kirsch PhD
Narrated by: Richard Powers
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Irving Kirsch has the world doubting the efficacy of antidepressants. Do they work, or are they no better than placebos? Like his colleagues, Kirsch spent years referring patients to psychiatrists to have their depression treated with drugs. Eventually, however, he decided to investigate for himself just how effective the drugs actually were.

With 15 years of research, Kirsch demonstrates that what everyone “knew” about antidepressants is wrong; what the medical community considered a cornerstone of psychiatric treatment is little more than a faulty consensus. But The Emperor’s New Drugs does more than just criticize: it offers a path society can follow to stop popping pills and start proper treatment.

About the author: Irving Kirsch, PhD, a native of New York City, is a professor of psychology at the University of Hull, United Kingdom, as well as professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut. He lives in Hull, England.

©2010 Irving Kirsch (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Anatomy & Physiology Biological Sciences Mental Health Mood Disorders Personal Development Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Health Medicine

Critic reviews

“[Kirsch’s] case that the drugs’ benefits are due to placebo and enhanced placebo effect is fascinating and demands urgent research…Clearly, it’s time for a big rethink of what constitutes mental illness and about how to treat it.” ( New Scientist)
“ The Emperor’s New Drugs absolutely dismantles the case for antidepressants as a pharmacologically effective treatment.” ( Psychology Today)
“[A] spare, remarkably engrossing book…Kirsch is a faithful proponent of the scientific method, and his voice therefore brings a welcome objectivity to a subject often swayed by anecdotes, emotions, or…self-interest.” ( New York Review of Books)
Well-explained Information • Sound Scientific Research • Eye-opening Content • Educational Value • Detailed Reasoning
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Wow: I had no idea that placebos , talk therapy ( my words ) and or exercise where just as good as antidepressants without the side effects.

A bit repetitive , but the message is quite clear.

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breezed through this book which does not shy away from being hard hitting while being centered on good scientific research and sound thinking

fascinating

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Anyone in or near depression needs this book to make an educated decision about treatment!

A must-read!

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not just showed how the psychiatric industry works on flimsy scinetific evidence and without proper understanding but brings to light how the pharma industry in general uses biased, self interest funded, even weighted studies to get by what it wants.

much of psychiatry is psedoscience

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I wish everyone interested in mental health and working in that field would read this book!

Excellent book!

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I am weaning off of ssri's and have replaced them with 5htp, L tyrosine and lots of other vitamins and I'm thriving. never again!

eye opening

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this is a well-written book for both practitioners as well as patients. the information is well explained and the author does a great job of detailing his reasoning. highly recommend.

Excellent book

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The detailed description of the way statistical data gets obfuscated not (only) by premeditated actions of pharmaceutical companies, sponsoring the clinical trials of their product, but by the effect of "breaking blindness" caused by the tendency of subjects to associate side effects (which they're informed about in advance in order to make an educated decision and remain liable for giving their consent) with a potency of an actual drug (therefore identifying themselves as members of a clinical group receiving an active component, which already violates a condition for double blindness) and fueling their expectations for its treating properties ("enhanced placebo") unveils such an intricate internetwork of cause and effect akin to "the Observer effect" from quantum physics or recursion of awareness from the game theory that I didn't expect to discover in what lots of pundits of popular science promote as a paragon of true scientific methodology.

No parts you're forced to endure

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As a medical professional that works in a non-prescribimg role, I found this book both eye-opening and a bit shocking. It exposes some uncomfortable truths about our peer review/medical journal process, drug funding, and FDA processes. At times, I found the detailed look at SSRIs a bit boring, but was captivated by the second half of the book and it's focus on the power of placebo. Highly recommended for any medical provider or those considering or currently on antidepressants of any kind. 4/5 only because it was a bit dry in the first half.

Erodes some faith in our medical system

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Very well done! Brave work exposing the corruption with our regulatory agencies and big pharmacy. Also some very illuminating information on the how powerful the placebo effect is.

Incredible and brave work

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