Elisabeth Targ

Elisabeth Fischer Targ (1961 - 2002) was a psychiatrist specializing in psychic phenomena and the role of spirituality in health and healing.

Education
Targ earned her undergraduate degree and her medical degree at Stanford University.

Research
Elisabeth Fischer Targ is probably best known for her study on the effects of prayer on patient outcomes in a group of people with AIDS. This randomized, double-blind study which was published in the Western Journal of Medicine found that the subjects who were prayed for had significantly better health and lower morbidity than the subjects who were not prayed for.

Additionally, in one of her studies, she found that group therapy was as useful as Prozac for fighting depression.

Controversy
Targ's studies on the effects of prayer were later compromised. It was found out she had manipulated the results of the study to get the results she was looking for. A detailed story was published in Wired following this event. .

Publications
A partial list of publications include:
 * Reinventing Medicine: Beyond Mind-Body to a New Era of Healing by Larry Dossey
 * Breast Cancer: Beyond Convention by Isaac Cohen, Debu Tripathy, and Mary Tagliaferri