I'm not sure I see a contradiction. This is compatible with the established idea that you can have transcendent insight without drugs, and with the equally-established idea of suggestion as one of the principal mechanisms behind placebo effects. A cohort was put in a situation that facilitated reflection upon life in a closed setting; that's exactly what I'm suggesting is helpful.

See also: "you're not anxious; you're distracted."

Agreed, if anything this placebo finding supports your idea that the experience mediates the improvement more than the chemical itself.

I once attended a talk by a neuroscientist at UCSF, Adam Gazzaley, that really helped me see what the future of medicine could look like if we appreciated the power of experience, and more importantly if we could measure and then alter said experience in a realtime closed-loop system. My takeaway was that one day we might think of blasting our synapses with SSRIs or Adderall similarly to civil war era surgeons...the bone saw does prevent gangrene, but in a such an inefficient way.