In one form or another, this argument has become popular: Most forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are just elaborate placebos. However, the placebo effect is incredibly powerful and useful, so these treatments are useful too.
Amongst many other people, Michael Brooks from the Guardian makes such a case here. It's an interesting idea. But I don't buy it.
Firstly, to my knowledge, there's no evidence that placebo treatments are clinically effective in the long term. There's no evidence against it, either, but this lack of evidence is important. (I'm not an expert so if such evidence exists, please say so!) There are, certainly, those well-known studies showing that placebos can improve symptoms in the lab, or in short-term clinical trials. And any doctor can tell you that placebos are a useful way of keeping people who want a quick fix satisfied. But is that what we want? Valium ...
