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Alex C.'s avatar

John Horgan (who is one of my favorite science writers) has written about the "Dodo Effect", the hypothesis that all psychotherapies are equal. This principle can also be extended to antidepressants, which are all about equally effective -- and just as effective (or ineffective) as placebos. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/cybertherapy-placebos-and-the-dodo-effect-why-psychotherapies-never-get-better/

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Joe Canimal's avatar

History rhymes — the conclusion that approximately all therapeutic modalities have about the same efficacy is at least as old as the Luborsky paper, Everybody Wins & All Must Have Prizes. The Method of Levels people think this is because the "active ingredient" of therapy is letting the person reorganize their own conflicting drives.

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