The Emperor’s New Drugs

Exploding the Antidepressant Myth

By: Irving Kirsch PhD

Narrated by: Richard Powers

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.

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)

A bit repetitive , but the message is quite clear.

Wow: I had no idea that placebos , talk therapy ( my words ) and or exercise where just as good as antidepressants without the side effects.

fascinating

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

A must-read!

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

much of psychiatry is psedoscience

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.

Excellent book!

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