In this meeting of the Engine Room, placebos are in the spotlight. There is now a large body of knowledge that exists around placebos and nocebos with a clearer understanding of some of the mechanisms that work to produce these effects. In this session the panel will interview Bev Bolton about three important mechanisms, namely conditioned responses, meaning making, and the therapeutic relationship which could allow us to optimise healing and also prevent harm by avoiding the nocebo responses. We will also discuss some of the challenges around implementing placebos into routine clinical practice and how some innovative tools are already being used to incorporate placebo healing in routine practice.