Nocebo and the Patient–Physician Communication

Abstract This chapter tackles one of the most delicate issues of the Ethical Counselling: communication. Communication is the central skill required for a proper patient–clinician relationship, but it is also vital whenever a service of ethical counselling is implemented. We do not dwell upon how it should be made. Differently, we discuss its neurocognitive counterpart. That is, we show how a wrong way of informing patients about their clinical situation or about the ethical dilemma they are facing could induce dangerous nocebo effects.
Keywords Communication Neurocognition Neurobiology Nocebo effects