Speaking & Workshops
Keynotes, Talks, Workshops
I aim to inspire, inform, and transform in my workshops and talks, which are all individually tailored. Below are some of the things I am often invited to talk about.
1. Placebos: why we need them. Based on the research from my bestselling book Doctor You, I explain how your inner pharmacy, inner surgeon and inner psychologist work, and give you simple tools you can use to boost their power.
2. The Philosophy of evidence-based medicine. How do we know that the tests and treatments our doctors give us work? In a word, it is because they are ‘evidence-based’. What many people don’t realise is that there is a lively debate about what good evidence is. This is more than a philosophers quibble (although it is that too): our definition of evidence determines whether we think statins and antidepressants should be thrown in the garbage or not, … In this talk, I discuss the different ‘theories’ of evidence, and why we should be much more sceptical about what we are told ‘works’.
3. Nocebos: why we need to avoid them. Nocebos are placebos’ evil cousins. They are the negative effects of believing something bad will happen. Unfortunately, most of our thoughts are negative.
4. Empathy: why every healthcare consultation needs a dose of it. We all know that empathy makes us feel good. My research with thousands of patients has shown that positive empathic communication can reduce pain, morphine use, and length of stay in hospital while improving satisfaction with care and quality of life.
5. Creating a culture of corporate wellbeing. Aimed at senior HR and corporate leaders, this talk is usually part of a workshop where I explain why corporate wellbeing is more than something that will make you and your employees feel good; it will improve retention, recruitment, and productivity.
My talks are always tailored to the audience, and I prefer talks where I have a chance to interact with the audience (even if this is online), for example by leaving them time to ask questions. All my talks are based on scientific evidence that I have reviewed, although when I am speaking with non-specialists I avoid the gory methodological details of the studies.
Testimonials
I wanted to formally thank you on behalf of the Empathy Initiative research group and the Faculty of health at UTS. There has been so much positive feedback about your presentation and my colleagues really valued meeting you and having the opportunity to focus on something of such immense importance to their teaching, research and practice
Professor Tracy Levett-Jones, Sydney, Australia
Given the reactions from the attendees I am sure it will be the most highly rated Waxman event the section has had
Ben Parris, about the Royal Society of Medicine Waxman event
The public turned up ‘en masse’ to hear Jeremy talk about placebos, the innate healing powers of our bodies, and does the importance of empathy in healthcare. He really made a positive impression. Thanks Jeremy!
Anne Jeanblanc, Le Point Magasine
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have all had to deal with stress, worry and social isolation and for many this continues even when lockdown has started to ease.I would highly recommend this video on mindfulness, the talk is given by Professor Jeremy Howick , from Oxford University,
hosted by Dr Afiz Haziz, a Bingley GP and Chairman of Humanity First UK.
Initially I was a little sceptical, tuned as I am to pure clinical education. It is a slow burner, but after listening to the whole video I was much more aware of how to deal with, on a personal level, the pressure and restrictions posed by the pandemic. The mantra was to “relax, connect and give” ,and after the video I was prompted to ‘phone an elderly aunt and friend, both of whom lived alone. It helped me to consider others more, not just friends and family but other workers, such as postmen, delivery drivers and the bin collectors. We left a note taped to the bin, thanking the collectors for their hard work and dedication and watched as it was held up to the cab for the others to see. Altruistic actions make us feel better also, highlighted by Professor Howick.
One further benefit, Professor Howick has a soothing voice, perhaps highlighting the Balint principle of the “clinician as a drug” !
Dr. Stan. Martin
Upcoming Events
To book Dr. Howick as a speaker for your event email jeremyhowick@gmail.com or book him via PROMOTIVATE SPEAKERS AGENCY.
28 January 2020. John Locke Lecture. The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. London, UK
28 February 2020. European Society for Person-Centred Healthcare. Empathy and person-centred care: are they cost-effective? London, UK.
6 March 2020. Placebos in Practice (en francais). Nice, France.
21 March 2020. How Placebo Effects can Enhance Care (1-day workshop). Copenhagen, Denmark
Past Events
21 March 2019. ENHANCING EMPATHY IN CHIROPRACTIC. World Chiropractic Congress. Berlin, Germany
5 June 2019. Implementing empathy in hospitals. McGill University. Montreal, Canada
7-9 July 2019. EXPLORING THE DARK SIDE OF THE PLACEBO: THE ETHICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY OF NOCEBO EFFECTS IN MEDICINE. 2nd Official Conference on Placebo Studies. Leiden, The Netherlands
28 September 2019. HOW TO USE PLACEBOS TO SUPPORT RECOVERY: AN EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH. Professional Development for Manual and Physical Therapists. London, UK
1 October 2019. Doctor You. Charity event in support of the Phoenix Prison Trust. Oxford, UK (location TBA)
2 March 2019. How can we be positive and honest? London, UK
24 October 2018. HOW TO AVOID HARMFUL COMMUNICATION: THE ETHICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY OF NOCEBO EFFECTS IN MEDICINE. Ethox, University of Oxford. Oxford, UK
29 October 2018. Implementing the evidence that positive empathic communication for the nursing profession. University of Technology Sydney
24 November 2018. Why every (chiropractice) conference needs a dose of empathy. Plenary lecture for the McTimoney Chiropractic Association. Oxford, UK
26 November 2018. Exploring the dark side of the placebo: the ethics and epistemology of nocebo effects in medicine.
6 December 2018. Why empathy is required for person-centred care which is required for evidence-based medicine. London, UK
7 December 2018. Mining methods for new treatment discovery: mechanisms or observations? Bologna, Italy
10 December 2018. HONESTY, POSITIVITY, AND HYPNOSIS. Royal Society of Medicine. London, UK
15 October 2018. How to avoid harmful communication: the ethics and epistemology of nocebo effects in medicine. Delft, The Netherlands
13. October 2018 10:00–14:30. DOCTOR YOU: HOW TO USE PLACEBO EFFECTS TO ENHANCE YOUR DAILY LIFE. Workshop as part of the Manchester Science Festival. THE LOWRY Pier 8, The Quays, Salford, Manchester
9 October 2018. PUTTING EMPATHY INTO PRACTICE. All day Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Workshop at Royal Society of Medicine, London, UK
4 October 2018. PLACEBO EFFECTS: EVIDENCE, ETHICS, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. Psychology in the Pub talk. The Yorkshire Grey, 2 Theobalds Road, London
3 October 2018. WHY EVERY HEALTHCARE CONSULTATION NEEDS A DOSE OF EMPATHY. Impact Hub, Kings Cross, London, UK
21 July 2018. HARNESSING PLACEBO IN CHIROPRACTIC PRACTICE. Plenary Lecture at the Evidence-Based Chiropractic Conference 2018. Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford, UK. Video here
3 June 2018. ‘Decision-Oriented Evidence: Uncertainties And Opportunities’. Health Technology Assessment international Conference. Vancouver, Canada. (HTTPS://WWW.HTAI2018.ORG/PLENARIES/)
22 June 2018. ‘Putting Empathy into Practice’. Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. 21 July 2018. ‘Fixing the problems with Evidence-Based Medicine’. University of Oxford.
13 October 2018. ‘Using the power of placebos to enhance your health’. Manchester, UK.
26 November 2018. ‘Reviewing the ethics and epistemology of placebos in light of recent evidence’. London School of Economics, UK.
27 April 2018. Stanford Medicine X Pre-Conference Workshop: ‘MINE YOUR PLACEBO POTENTIAL, UNLEASH EMPATHY, AND MEET THE POWER OF DOCTOR YOU‘, A 1-day workshop facilitated by Dr. Jeremy Howick and Dr. Amy Price (University of Oxford).
28 April 2018. Stanford Medicine X Plenary ‘WHY EVERY HEALTHCARE CONSULTATION NEEDS A DOSE OF EMPATHY‘ Stanford Medicine X. See video here:17 May 2018 ‘Placebos, empathy, and expectations: how these change your patients minds and bodies’ Psychologists in the Pub, London UK.
21 May 2018 ‘Introducing the Hard Science of Self Healing’ Balens Continuing Professional Development Conference, Birmingham, UK (HTTP://WWW.BALENS.CO.UK/CPD.ASPX)
1 March 2018. ‘Why every healthcare consultation needs a dose of empathy’ Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Oxford (HTTPS://TALKS.OX.AC.UK/TALKS/ID/F25CEF80-09C6-4800-BBDC-213776098691/)
13 March 2018 ‘The Ethics of Placebo Treatments’ Health Psychology Seminars, King’s College London (HTTPS://WWW.KCL.AC.UK/IOPPN/DEPTS/PSYCHOLOGY/RESEARCH/RESEARCHGROUPINGS/HEALTHPSYCH/SEMINARS/SEMINARS.ASPX)
24 March 2018 ‘How to use placebos to help patients’ Continuing Professional Development course for manual and physical therapists (HTTP://WWW.CPDO.NET/PRG/HOWICK_PLACEBOS.PHP).
26 January 2018. “Using empirical philosophy to evaluate the ethics of placebos in clinical practice”. University of British Columbia, Canada.
26 January 2018. “Why every healthcare consultation needs a dose of empathy”. Grand rounds talk. University of British Columbia, Canada (HTTP://WWW.MSL.UBC.CA/EVENTS/SPPH-GRAND-ROUNDS-DR-EVA-OBERLE)
22 January 2018. “Why every healthcare consultation needs a dose of empathy”. Stanford Medicine X, USA.
17 November 2017. ‘Ethics, Nocebos, and informed consent’. Cardiff University https://twitter.com/CTRCardiffUni/status/927533008898453504
21 July 2017. “Placebo is an ethically endorsed treatment and not deceitful quackery” (Debate against Professor David Healy). Royal Society of Medicine. London, UK.
11 May 2017. “The emerging discipline of empirical philosophy and why it is needed to inform evidence-based policy”. Evidence-Based Policy: One-Day Workshop. Copenhagen, Denmark. 20 April 2017. “The need for empirical philosophy: evidence from three case-studies”. Too Much Medicine. Oxford, UK. 13 April 2017. “Why it is ethical to exploit placebo effects in clinical practice”. Sherborne Science Café. Sherborne, UK.
2-4 April 2017 (Leiden, The Netherlands). 1st official Society for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies (SIPS) conference. “Ethical aspects and challenges of trial design in placebo research”
3-4 October 2016. Masterclass “Angelo Ferro” (Padova, Italy). “Etica, sport e benessere mentale” [Ethics, Sport, and Psychological Wellbeing]
8 September 2016. Royal College of Chiropractors Continuing Professional Development Event. “The Difficulty in designing placebos for complex treatments like chiropractic, and why the mind/body separation doesn’t make sense”
21 June 2016 (London, UK). iWGC (I Want Great Care) Symposium 2016. How empathetic care improves patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, reduces medico-legal risk, and improves job satisfaction.
10 November 2015. “WHY IT IS ETHICAL TO PRESCRIBE PLACEBOS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE”. Oxford Café Scientifique. Oxford, UK. 14 October 2015. “WHY IT IS ETHICAL TO PRESCRIBE PLACEBOS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE”. Bath Science Café. Bath, UK.
3 September 2015 LÜBECK UNIVERSITY. “WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE FOR EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE?”
20 May 2015 LAUNCH OF JAMES LIND LIBRARY “WHEN BIAS IS GOOD: USING STORIES TO OUR ADVANTAGE” 13 May 2015. “Mindfulness for Leadership”. Said Business School. Oxford, UK. 21 October 2014. “Defending a definition of placebo controls”. Harvard University Placebo Studies Programme. Boston, USA. 6 May 2012. “Evidence-Based Neurophysiological Monitoring” (Presidential Address to the American Society of Neurophysiological Monitoring). Salt Lake City, Utah (USA).
Selected Peer Reviewed Conferences and Invited Talks
24 May 2016. (Oxford, UK) Better Value Musculoskeletal Care Interventions to help clinicians drop ineffective treatments. ? Dr Jeremy Howick
20 January 2016. “EXPLORING THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL ROLE OF MECHANISM IN MEDICAL TREATMENT DISCOVERY BY EVALUATING THE META-RESEARCH DATA” University of Oslo Science Studies Colloquium. Oslo, Norway
20 April 2016. “Evidential support for the view that we need to think about mechanisms: necessary or a search in the dark? Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Munich, Germany
20 March 2016 “YOUR INNER DOCTOR” MISTY Festival. Montreal, Canada
7 December 2015. “WHY PLACEBOS ARE BETTER THAN AMPHETAMINES FOR BOYS WHO CAN’T DOWN IN SCHOOL” Ludwig-Maxmillians Universität München Institute of Medical Psychology, Munich, Germany
13 April 2015 EVIDENCE LIVE “A NEW GENERATION OF BIAS IN EBM”
25 March 2015. “Questioning the Usefulness of Basic Science Research for Generating Clinically Useful Treatments”. McGill University, Montreal
25 March 2015. “The Need For More Evidence In Ethical Debates”. Universite de Montreal. Montreal, Canada. 18 March 2015. “Applying Evidence-Based Medicine to Cancer Trials”. Cancer Research UK. London, UK
13 November 2014. “Bias in Animal Studies”. National Institutes for Health Research, Washington DC, USA
6-9 November 2014. “What Counts as a Placebo is Relative to a Target Disorder and Therapeutic Theory: Defending a Modified Version of Grünbaum’s Scheme”. Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Chicago, USA
28 February 2014. “The need to define placebos to have rational policies about ethical placebo use in clinical trials and practice: defending a modified version of Grünbam’s scheme” University of California, San Diego (UCSD). La Jolla (US)
7 February 2014. “A justification for the 2011 Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence” European Urology Association (EUA). London (UK)
7 October 2013. “Evidence according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine: where it is going next” Danish Society for Obstetrics and Gynaecology (DSOG). Copenhagen (Denmark)
5 April 2013. “Evidence-Based Medicine” (Inaugural lecture for the Lithuanian Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine). Vilnius (Lithuania).
31 January 2012. “The importance of conceptualizing ‘placebos’ when attempting to empirically measure ‘placebo’ effects”. King’s College London
9 November 2011. “Using Mechanisms to Solve the Problem of Applying Average Trial Results”. Zentrum Geschichte des Wissens, Zurich, Switzerland
3 November 2011. “Problems with Using Mechanisms to Solve the Problem of External Validity: Reply to Cartwright”. Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable. University of the Basque Country, Spain
13 December 2011. “Problems with Using Mechanisms to Solve the Problem of External Validity: Reply to Cartwright”. Philosophy of Epidemiology Conference
25 October 2011. “Randomization and Blinding in Animal Experiments: a Call to Arms for Blinding Mice” (poster presentation). Evidence 2011. London, United Kingdom
12 February 2010. “What Evidence do Experts Provide?” University College London, United Kingdom
15 April 2010. “Placebo controls: problematic and misleading ‘baseline measure of effectiveness’”. University of Bristol, United Kingdom. 12 October 2009. “Questioning the methodological superiority of ‘placebo’ over ‘active’ controlled trials”. Cochrane Colloquium. Singapore
24 September 2009. “What on Earth was Medicine Based on Before Evidence-Based Medicine?” Descartes Centre, University of Utrecht, Netherlands.
10 September 2009 – “Defining a Role for Mechanistic Reasoning in Evidence-Based Medicine”. Mechanisms and Causality in the Sciences. University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
6-9 November 2008. “Double-Masking: The Benefits and Risks of Being in the Dark”. Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Pittsburgh, USA.
7 March 2008. “Double-Masking: The Benefits and Risks of Being in the Dark” Society for Academic Primary Care. Warwick Medical School, Warwick.
29-31 May 2006. “Placebo Controls: Epistemic Virtue or Vice?” International Conference of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science Toronto, Canada
19-20 June 2006. “Evidence from Above: Allowing Background Knowledge and Preventing Prejudice”. Contingency and Dissent Workshop. LSE.
12 April 2006. (Given in Spanish) “The Assumption of Additivity in Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)”. First Annual Conference in the Philosophy of Medicine. Computense, Madrid, Spain.
2 June 2006. “Placebo Controls: Epistemic Virtue or Vice” International Conference on Philosophy, Athens Institute for Education and Research, Greece.
18 November 2005. “Placebo Controls: Epistemic Virtue or Vice”. Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable, University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA. 10 March 2005. “The Role of Randomization: A Response to John Worrall’s “Why Randomize?”” Experimental Philosophy Laboratory (EPL). University of California, San Diego, USA (HTTP://MIND.UCSD.EDU/EPL/).