5th International Conference of the Society for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies (SIPS) in Kraków
From June 15 to 18, 2025, the 5th International Conference of the Society for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies (SIPS) took place in Kraków, Poland. The conference brought together researchers, clinicians, and students from various disciplines with a shared interest in placebo and nocebo effects.
The program featured keynote lectures, plenary sessions, symposia, workshops, and poster presentations. A central theme was the influence of expectations and communication on clinical outcomes. Several presentations demonstrated that the way treatments are communicated – transparent yet positive – not only contributes to improved patient satisfaction and adherence but can also reduce nocebo effects.
A striking development during SIPS 2025 was the active involvement of patients. For the first time, patients were included as representatives in discussions on research priorities and ethical issues, underlining the importance of patient-centered approaches in placebo research.
Additionally, the conference emphasized methodological standards and best practices. Workshops explored, among other topics, how expectations can be reliably measured, how different placebo mechanisms can be distinguished, and how study design and reporting can improve the reproducibility of research.
SIPS President Andrea Evers delivered a keynote lecture on “Learning Mechanisms of Placebo and Nocebo Effects: Recent Findings and Therapeutic Applications.” She presented recent findings on how classical conditioning and reconditioning shape placebo and nocebo effects, discussing the underlying psychological and neurobiological processes. Additionally, therapeutic possibilities to enhance treatment outcomes and reduce negative expectations, both in healthy participants and patients, were discussed. Symposium contributions were also given by IPS researchers Judy Veldhuijzen and Kaya Peerdeman. IPS PhD candidates Pien van der Velde and Hans van Lennep were selected for both a flash talk and a science slam. Poster presentations were delivered by Antoinette van Laarhoven, Victor Leong, Stefanie Meeuwis, Henriët van Middendorp (on behalf of Fabian Wolters), Kaya Peerdeman, and Pien van der Velde.
At the end of the conference, the award winners were announced. These included the Early Career Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Early Career Awards were awarded to Stefanie Meeuwis and Aleksandrina Skvortsova, both from the Center for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies Leiden research group. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Paul Enck.
In summary, the 5th International SIPS Conference was once again a great success. It provided a platform for knowledge exchange, discussions on ethics and methodology, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, all with the shared goal of responsibly applying placebo insights in healthcare.
