The Emperor’s New Drugs
- Author Irving Kirsch
- Narrator Richard Powers
- Publisher Blackstone Publishing
- Run Time 7 hours and 19 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Abnormal psychology, Coping with depression and other mood disorders, Encyclopaedias and reference works, Pharmacology, Physiological and neuro-psychology, biopsychology, Psychopharmacology.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
- £3.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
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 fifteen 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.
Critics Review
-
“[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 -
“In measured prose, Kirsch leads the reader through the labyrinth of more than twenty years of trials, studies, and meta-analyses and shows that these pills are no better than placebos.”
Times Literary Supplement (London) -
“We can only hope that Kirsch’s call will be heard.”
Scientific American Mind -
“[Irving Kirsch’s] published articles—and now this book—are having a profound impact on the field, and deservedly so. His research is careful, his logic is easy to follow, and his writing is clear, all of which make The Emperor’s New Drugs an engaging—and important—read. Americans typically turn to the drug cabinet for help with depression, and Kirsch’s book makes a convincing argument that psychotherapy would be a better choice.”
American Journal of Psychology
More from the same
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.