"that we are changing underlying (and still somewhat unknown) biochemical processes that lock individuals’ brains and bodies into toxic depressive states."

Two things to keep in mind:

(1) The above statement applies equally to placebo and psychotherapy. It has been established scientifically at least as reliably for placebos and therapy as for psychotropic medication, that both change underlying biochemical processes.

(2) the most recent studies indicate that placeboes have a cure rate of around 40%. Talk therapy or medication alone have a cure rate of 41-45%.

People who haven't thought through the math insist, "No, that's not possible. I tried everything for years, and the first day I took X medication I felt better than I had in my life.

Do you realize what you just said is perfectly consistent with the cure rates I quoted (note - prescribing doctors get confused about this too)

David Burns (who did research in the 1970s showing conclusively that depression was NOT due to a "chemical imbalance in the brain" - research that has not been contradicted since), in his 2006 book Panic Attacks, gives an excellent illustration of how people react to placebo facts.

"Imagine," he writes, "a new placebo drug is marketed, named 'Placebin.' It's given to 1 million people. it will do little if anything for 600,000 people. But 400,000 will be completely cured, and probably go on Oprah or something similar saying how miraculous it was, AND a significant number, when told it was a placebo, will INSIST it could not have been and somebody made a mistake. "

It's very hard for most of us to understand how statistics apply individually. It helps to reflect on this , though.