Books by Irving Kirsch

Everyone knows that antidepressant drugs are miracles of modern medicine.

Do antidepressants work? Of courseeveryone knows it. Like his colleagues, Irving Kirsch, a researcher and clinical psychologist, for years referred patients to psychiatrists to have their depression treated with drugs before deciding to investigate for himself just how effective the drugs actually were. Over the course of the past fifteen years, however, Kirschs researcha thorough analysis of decades of Food and Drug Administration datahas demonstrated that what everyone knew about antidepressants was wrong. Instead of treating depression with drugs, weve been treating it with suggestion.The Emperors New Drugs makes an overwhelming case that what had seemed a cornerstone of psychiatric treatment is little more than a faulty consensus. But Kirsch does more than just criticize: he offers a path society can follow so that we stop popping pills and start proper treatment for depression.

Traces the historical development of hypnosis and provides a review of the theories that have tried to explain how hypnosis works. This book also reflects on the cultural and scientific attitudes and practices that prevailed at various times. It also includes a selection of reports on clinical applications and on legal and forensic issues.