Brief conversation with Jan Golembiewski - 'it's NOT a placebo'

One of the best papers I'd found recently relating to my thesis was one by a researcher in Sydney - Jan Golembiewski. After sending him a brief note about how useful I'd found his paper (see earlier links), he then said 'but it's not a placebo' - meaning that it's far more than just a placebo as it does have 'active ingredients'.
The environment for mental health patients is not a true placebo in that sense as it does have an active, definable therapeutic effect. This is where this differs from, for example, cancer patients. The brain of  many mental health patients is altered to be more susceptible to environmental effects in general, there is neurological rationale behind this.

Placebo definition

The concept of the 'architectural placebo' is now more a matter of definition. I need to define more carefully what I mean by this. In a very literal sense, the building itself still is a placebo in that it does not have any pharmacological ingredients, no 'active' substances that work directly on the patient's mind. However, it does have an active effect.

Placebo could also be interpreted to mean something that works but with no conventional scientific explanation or proof of how. Calling something a placebo does not mean that it doesn't work, it just means we don't have a completely definable way of explain how it works. Perhaps by magic...

It then comes down to communication and definition.
For example, the effects of discrete changes to the environment can be explained by environmental design research, evidence based design principles such as 'views of nature reduce number of days in hospital' or 'natural light for X% of time improves symptoms of Y by normalising patient circadian rhythms' or 'private rooms reduce infection rates' and so on.
Or these same things can be described in more poetic terms considering the whole experience, not just discrete items. For example, ((find example!!))

The placebo effect here is also relating to the way the changes to the main administration building will overcome, I believe, the adverse stigma attached to this place.