The word placebo derives from the Latin phrase I shall please (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1974). In modern clinical medicine, the placebo has become known as a pharmacologically inert treatment provided to compare/contrast with an active treatment (e.g. medication, surgery, psychotherapy, healing) in clinical trials (Harrington, 1999). However, in the broader setting of general medical practice, the placebo can take on many guises. Placebos can be sugar pills, saline injections, sham incisions or other physical procedures, even the aura of professionalism created by credentials on the wall, and white coat figures offering words of reassurance.