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Phoebe Friesen

Phoebe Friesen
Contact Information
Email address: 
phoebe.friesen [at] mcgill.ca
Address: 

2001 ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ College Avenue,
11th floor #1145

Phone: 
514-398-6336
Degree(s): 

Ph.D. in philosophy from the CUNY Graduate Center
M.A. in philosophy from Western University
Post Doctoral Fellow at the Ethox Centre at the University of Oxford (2018-2019)

Department: 
Equity, Ethics and Policy
Social Studies of Medicine
Position: 
Assistant Professor
Biography: 

Courses: 

Dr. Friesen teaches BIOE-680 (Bioethical Theory, a required course in the Specialization in Bioethics Master’s Program), Dissecting the Placebo Effect (an elective for 4th year medical students), and offers several lectures within the Medical Ethics and Health Law components of the medical student curriculum.

Research areas: 
Biomedical Ethics
Health Inequalities
Mental Health
Research Ethics
Areas of interest: 

Dr. Friesen’s interests span several questions that arise at the intersections of medical ethics, psychiatry, philosophy of science, and research ethics. Among other topics, she has written about the harms of failing to acknowledge the impact of the placebo effect in both research and clinical contexts, the issue of inconsistency within and across research ethics boards, the role of responsibility in the allocation of health care resources, the promises and challenges related to participatory research, and the importance of requiring consent for educational pelvic examinations on women under anesthetic.

Selected publications: 

Byju, A., Friesen, P., (2023) Making Up Monsters, Redirecting Blame: An Examination of Excited Delirium. Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology.

Friesen, P., Goldstein, J. (2022) Standpoint Theory and the Psy Sciences: Can Marginalization and Critical Engagement Lead to an Epistemic Advantage? .

Friesen, P., Luke Gelinas, Aaron Kirby, David H Strauss, Barbara E Bierer (2022) IRBs and The Protection-Inclusion Dilemma: Finding a Balance. (target article)

Friesen, P. (2022) Psychosis and Psychedelics: Historical Entanglements and Contemporary Contrasts. .

Friesen, P., Gligorov, N., (2022) White Ignorance in Pain Research: Racial Differences and Racial Disparities.

Friesen, P., Perez, T., Towle, S., (2021) Birthing Alone: An Ethical Analysis of Pandemic Policies Banning Birthing Partners. .

Friesen, P., Goldstein, J., Dixon, L. (2021) A ‘Blip in the Road’: Experiences of Identity after a First Episode of Psychosis. .

Shevlin, H., Friesen, P. (2020) Pain, Placebo, and Cognitive Penetration. , 1-21.

Friesen, P. (2020) Towards an Account of the Placebo Effect: A Critical Evaluation Alongside Current Evidence, , 35 (1): 1-23.

Friesen, P. (2020) Medically Assisted Dying and Suicide: How are the different, and how are they similar? , 50 (1), 32-43.

Friesen, P., Lignou, S., Sheehan, M., Singh, I. (2019) Measuring the Impact of Participatory Research in Psychiatry: How the search for epistemic justifications obscures ethical considerations. . Special Issue: Showcasing Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement in Mental Health Research. 24: 54-61.

Friesen, P. (2019) Expanding Outcome Measures in Schizophrenia Research: Does RDoC Pose a Threat? , 26 (3), 243-260.

Friesen, P. (2019) Mesmer, the Placebo Effect, and the Efficacy Paradox: Lessons for Evidence Based Medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine. , Special Issue: Pseudo Matters in Global and Public Health, Eds. Kingori, P. and Gerrets, R. 29 (4), 435-447.

Friesen, P. (2018) Educational Pelvic Exams on Anesthetized Women: Why Consent Matters . 32(5), 298-307.

Friesen, P., Kearns, L., Redman, B., & Caplan, A. L. (2017). Rethinking the Belmont Report? , 17 (7), 15-21.

Friesen, P. (2016). Personal responsibility within health policy: unethical and ineffective. , 44: 53-58.

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