Placebos, Positivity and Internet Interventions Seminar

Although critical, this question is rarely addressed. Our assumptions regarding how treatments work guide our choice of therapeutic techniques for use in interventions.  Therefore, it is important that we examine these assumptions carefully to avoid unnecessarily limiting the potential of self-help interventions.

In this talk I will discuss some preliminary research that suggests applying placebo theories to self-help interventions could offer novel ways to begin to address problems such as attrition. In three studies involving brief unguided internet administered interventions, keeping gratitude diaries was compared with keeping automatic thought records for a range of symptoms including body dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms and worry. In each case keeping a gratitude diary lead to higher retention, and was equally effective in reducing symptoms as keeping automatic thought records. These preliminary findings will be situated within the broader psychotherapy literature, which suggests that different therapeutic techniques are often equally effective.

I will conclude by discussing the potential for developing techniques based around positive constructs such as gratitude and appreciation, and the benefit these techniques may have when integrated into our internet interventions.

Questions for discussion:

How best can positive techniques be integrated into interventions?

How do we manage the tension between the presumed effectiveness of a technique and its likely effect on adherence?