Expectations influence treatment outcomes

What happens in the brain and body during this process?
How do we explain individual differences?
Can the effects be used to benefit patients?

Find out more about our research network

You must know that the will is a powerful adjuvant of medicine.

Paracelsus
(1493 – 1541)

Experiences and expectations are powerful therapeutic tools.

It was not Paracelsus, the Swiss physician, natural philosopher and alchemist, who first realised this. It has been known for thousands of years.

But what effects do positive and negative patient expectations have on treatment outcomes today? To answer this question, interdisciplinary research teams are working in close cooperation on 16 projects.

The researchers and clinicians involved in "Treatment Expectation", the project title of Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio 289, aim to unlock the neurobiological and psychological mechanisms behind treatment expectation effects, understand differences between individual patients and examine how the results can be applied to everyday clinical practice.

The hope is to extend the range of treatment options for millions of patients.

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News

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    3 teilige Videoserie von Prof. Winfried Rief, Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Leiter der Psychotherapie-Ambulanz der Universität Marburg – jeweils zwischen 14 und 22 Minuten. Sie basieren auf einem Vortrag, den Prof. Rief bei der Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes am 11.8.2021 gehalten hat. Der nachfolgende Teil 1 beschäftigt sich mit den Fakten der derzeitigen Impfsituation. Im folgenden Teil 2 erfahren Sie mehr über Gründe für Impfskepsis, Impfangst oder Impfverweigerung und warum sie...