Sometimes it doesn't even take sugar pills. There was a study once that showed that stroke patients recover faster and more fully if their hospital room has a window, and further, if outside that window stands a tree. The problem with the skeptic types is that they confuse science and dogma, forgetting that science doesn't mean "let's find out the 'truth' about X, Y and Z," but rather, "Can we measure the effect of such and such on X, Y and Z?" Biochemically speaking, we have no idea wtf hope, love and positivity are, but fuck if they don't help people. Edit: And I hope we never do find out wtf they are, because you know Pfizer and the boys will all try to monetize it even though the real thing is free. But look up studies on oxytocin; people are already trying to tell you that the love you feel is purely biochemical.
Dan Ariely quotes a study in which two groups of people are given placebos. One of them is told the pill normally costs $0.20. The other is told the pill normally costs $9. Guess which one is more effective? There are cultural aspects, too. Germans react well to placebo injections. Americans react well to placebo pills. Some other culture reacts well to placebo salves. Go figure.
Placebo exorcisms in rural India have more efficacy against depression and anxiety than talk therapy does in Denmark