This is a really important topic which I hardly dealt with in the book. It’s one that scientists don’t really like because in many respects it’s not measurable and it belongs more to the mysterious realms of psychology, mind/body studies and psychosomatics – all pretty scary for medics.
But it’s scientifically and therapeutically very important. In some respects, it really ought to be categorized under ‘treatment’, because any action, including what seems like no action or neutral action, always has some direct effect on health and welfare and is not, as commonly assumed, actually neutral or empty at all. The giving of a sugar-pill or even a diagnosis itself have no pharmaceutical or surgical components, but either may affect the physiology and/or the psychology of the recipient in important ways.