Hybrid-Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "Talking Placebos: New Concerns About Placebo Effects in Psychiatry" - Kevin P. Kennedy, MD

12:00pm - 1:00pm • Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom)

2025-10-28 12:00:00 2025-10-28 13:00:00 America/New_York Hybrid-Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "Talking Placebos: New Concerns About Placebo Effects in Psychiatry" - Kevin P. Kennedy, MD Talking Placebos: New Concerns About Placebo Effects in Psychiatry Kevin Kennedy, MD Psychiatrist, Mental Health Clinic Chrome Team Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia Research on placebo effects in psychiatry has focused on the drug-placebo difference for antidepressants in depression. There has been little discussion of the many widely-used psychiatric treatments that do not outperform placebo in clinical trials or meta-analyses. In clinical practice, benefit from these treatments can only be attributable to a placebo response. This talk examines the clinical and ethical implication of major placebo-level treatments in psychiatry. We will then apply this perspective to novel psychiatric treatments like psychedelics and brain stimulation. Dr. Kennedy is interested in evaluating the quality of evidence supporting the pharmacological treatment of depression, with a particular interest in patients with medical and psychiatric comorbidities, the use of psychiatric polypharmacy, and augmentation strategies. Registration required; please feel free to bring lunch Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

Research on placebo effects in psychiatry has focused on the drug-placebo difference for antidepressants in depression. There has been little discussion of the many widely-used psychiatric treatments that do not outperform placebo in clinical trials or meta-analyses. In clinical practice, benefit from these treatments can only be attributable to a placebo response. This talk examines the clinical and ethical implication of major placebo-level treatments in psychiatry. We will then apply this perspective to novel psychiatric treatments like psychedelics and brain stimulation.

Dr. Kennedy is interested in evaluating the quality of evidence supporting the pharmacological treatment of depression, with a particular interest in patients with medical and psychiatric comorbidities, the use of psychiatric polypharmacy, and augmentation strategies.