Science-designed placebo protocols

Each protocol has been designed using groundbreaking research into therapeutics, behaviour change and neuroscience.

How Open Label Placebo (OLP) Works

Medical Conditioning

You have a lifetime of opening a bottle, consuming something and feeling better. Undergoing some form of treatment triggers automatic associations with previous medication experiences through "pharmacological memory" independent of drug content - even when you know it's a placebo.

Prediction Error Processing

Your mind knows the gummy isn’t real medicine but the protocol we've designed feels like a real treatment routine. This creates a “prediction error” between what the brain expects (placebo) and what your body is doing. To resolve this confusion, the brain begins looking for positive signs to see if it needs to update its prediction. This recalibration is now considered the key reason why OLP triggers genuine improvements.

Disrupting Negative Feedback Loops

For many conditions, the central nervous system becomes hypersensitive and amplifies pain/symptom signals that in turn worsen things like stress which, in turn, can worsen your symptoms even further.
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Copables interrupts this negative cycle by providing a physical ritual that helps you reframe your experience and diverts your brain's attention away from constantly symptom monitoring.

Agency & Action Over Health

The conscious choice to engage with treatment, despite knowing it's a placebo, provides a sense of agency that activates reward circuits and maintains hope.

The same way taking a different route in a traffic jam feels better than sitting still, taking control over your destiny feels better than helplessness.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the most widely used mental health treatment in the world

CBT is a time-limited, problem-focused, highly structured treatment, based on the notion that “the way we think determines the way we feel and behave”.

The primary mechanism behind CBT is Cognitive Restructuring: systematically identifying, challenging, and replacing dysfunctional automatic thoughts with more balanced, realistic thinking patterns. This literally rewires neural pathways responsible for the thought patterns behind discomfort.

"The combination of CBT and placebo treatment created lasting therapeutic benefits...At three-month follow-up, the combined approach showed superior recovery rates, with nearly three-quarters of patients achieving clinical remission."

Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria 2021

Placebo effects aren't just about temporary symptom relief - they actually enhance the core mechanisms of CBT by improving engagement and long-term maintenance of therapeutic behaviors.

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Writing by hand helps you process your thoughts more deeply

Researchers noticed that the connectivity of various brain regions jumped when the study participants wrote by hand. They observed no change when the participants typed.

When you write by hand, you engage in a process that requires deeper cognitive processing. This is due to the motor processes involved in handwriting, which create a more profound engagement of brain systems associated with encoding and memory. Handwriting helps you engage more slowly, deliberately and deeply with your thoughts.

View Article from Psychiatrist.com

The Psychology of Hope

Patients often call open-label placebo “wild” or “crazy” but they still improve. Research calls this tragic optimism: realistic awareness of struggle paired with a willingness to try. Because OLP works through prediction updates and not blind faith, even skeptical brains get the signal to recalibrate.

Most participants overwhelmingly denied initial positive expectations—yet reported significant relief.

I can't say I'm expecting that much, but I think if something did happen, it'd be a pleasant surprise... It is worth a shot because otherwise, if nothing else, I'm no worse off than I am today, you know... I haven't anything to lose."

This hopeful but skeptical mindset is the exact condition OLP needs to make meaningful changes in your brain to help you on your healing journey.

View Article from British Medical Journal

Research-Backed Effectiveness Across 5 Conditions

Low Mood

Open-label placebo group experienced significantly less sadness after mood induction compared to controls

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Rapid onset effects: Significant improvement within first weeks of treatment

Early-onset depression responsive: Particularly beneficial for depression starting before age 50

Better therapy compliance: Patients taking OLP completed homework assignments 3 extra days

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IBS

69 percent of participants who received open-label placebo reporting a clinically meaningful improvement in their symptoms

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Works as well as real medicine: OLP matched double-blind placebo effectiveness completely

Strong responder rate: 70% achieved clinically meaningful improvement vs 54% control group

Dramatic symptom relief: 30% experienced very strong clinical response (150-point reduction)

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Anxiety

OLP experienced significantly less anxiety than the control before taking the test and less failed the test (29% vs. 53%)"

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Real performance boost: 29% failure rate vs 53% in control group

Significant anxiety reduction: Measured by validated anxiety scales before stressful tests

Works for high-anxiety people: Greatest benefit for those with baseline test anxiety

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PMS

79% reduction in symptom intensity for women taking OLP plus rationale and an 83% reduction in interference

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Nearly 80% symptom reduction: 79.3% reduction in symptom intensity reported

Life interference eliminated: 82.5% reduction in how PMS disrupts daily activities

Clinically meaningful improvement: Meets established medical criteria for treatment success

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Fatigue

OLP had a 29% improvement in fatigue severity and a 39% improvement in fatigue-disrupted quality of life

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29% fatigue improvement: Significant reduction in cancer-related exhaustion severity

39% quality of life boost: Major improvement in fatigue-disrupted daily functioning

Persistent benefits: Effects maintained throughout 3-week treatment period

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Who does this work for?

OLPs work best for those who:

Are curious, open-minded, or hopeful in attitude
Are experiencing subjective symptoms (pain, mood, gut issues)
Find comfort or meaning in health-related rituals
Have a willingness to trust or at least “test” the placebo process

Openness to mind-body connection
The more you believe, the more you achieve

Having a pre-existing belief in the power of placebos and mind-body connections significantly predicts OLP response. Individuals who believe that psychological factors can influence physical symptoms are more likely to benefit from OLP treatment. This belief system appears to interact with clinical rationales to activate placebo mechanisms, even when the person knows they're receiving an inert substance.

Cognitive Flexibility
Self-awareness and reflection help drive outcomes

Individuals who demonstrate cognitive flexibility - the ability to shift thinking patterns and entertain seemingly contradictory ideas - show superior OLP responses. This manifests as being comfortable with the paradox of taking an inert pill for therapeutic benefit. People who benefit from OLP often engage in active reflection about their symptoms and treatment, rather than passive acceptance. They describe having "openness to see what happens" and exhibit curiosity about the counterintuitive nature of placebo treatment.

Not prone to catastrophizing
Overly negative mindsets will not be helpful

The tendency to magnify, ruminate on, and feel helpless about pain or symptoms - is one of the strongest negative predictors of OLP response. Individuals who score low on the Pain Catastrophizing Scale consistently show better improvement with OLP treatment. Those who don't catastrophize negative symptoms are better able to engage with the paradoxical nature of taking a known placebo for therapeutic benefit.

High Visceral Sensitivity
Being in tune with your body is important

Counterintuitively, people with higher visceral sensitivity - meaning they are more aware of and attentive to their bodily sensations and symptoms - respond better to OLPs. This heightened body awareness appears to help individuals better track and attribute improvements to their treatment. The research shows this relationship is specific to OLP and doesn't apply to traditional placebos, where high visceral sensitivity actually predicts poorer outcomes.

Hopeful but skeptical
Look on the bright side but educate yourself

One of the most consistent findings is that OLP responders maintain hope for improvement while simultaneously holding low expectations about the treatment. This psychological stance of "hopeful skepticism" allows them to remain open to potential benefits without the disappointment that might come from unmet high expectations. Research shows that unlike traditional placebos, positive expectations are not necessary for OLP effectiveness - and may even be counterproductive.