Therapy for ME under fire

[Guest guest]

Hi

In this weeks Big Issue in the North

Therapy for ME under fire by Guttridge-Hewitt

The use of cognitive behavioural in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome

has come under renewed fire ahead of a Royal Medical School conference at the

end of this month.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), currently promoted as a treatment for a

range of mental conditions, it is also recommended by the National Institute for

Clinical Excellence (NICE) for chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME which

is thought to affect some 250,000 UK residents.

CBT teaches patients to recognise their thoughts and behaviour and to take steps

to change them. Unlike other talking therapies, it focuses on the here and now

rather than seeking to find the root cause of the problems. But some health

professionals including members of the British Psychological Society believe

that advocating CBRT for chronic fatigue syndrome implies that it has a

psychological origin, whereas the World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies the

condition as a neurological disease, a category which includes multiple

sclerosis and epilepsy.

British Psychological Society members also brand CBT as impractical,

uneconomical and inflexible . And the absence of critics of CBT in the Royal

Medical Schools conference is further evidence of bias, they say. “NICE’s

guidelines do not accept any alternative”, said Dr Ellen Goudsmit of the BPS.

“They’re not just promoting the treatment, they are actively hyping it up and

ignoring evidence that shows alternatives may be more suitable”. They are also

the most expensive treatments available.”

A UK adaptation of WHO guidelines reclassified the condition as a mental

disorder. But in 2006, a coroner attributed the death of Sophie Mirza, 32, of

Brighton, to acute renal failure resulting from chronic fatigue syndrome – a

verdict campaigners believe shows the condition is a physical one.

Dr Shepherd, medical advisor to the ME Association (MEA), said. “The MEA

does not accept the conclusion that ME and chronic fatigue syndrome is largely

or wholly maintained by unhelpful beliefs and behaviours. Consequently, we would

not endorse any form of behaviour or treatment that is purely based on the

idea.” A Chief Medical Officer report gives weight to this view. It found that

only 7 percent of patients treated with CBT had noticed an improvement in their

condition.

Commenting on the absence of BPS members from the RMS conference, Goudsmit said:

“It is strange for independent psychologists to see all evidence that challenges

CBT and the preferred treatment of ME and chronic fatigue being ignored by the

dominant bodies in medicine”. Some health professional say the best way to treat

chronic fatigue patients is with tailor-made programmes combining different

medical components.

From the Big Issue in the North. No 17 14-20 April 2008

Contact address 10 Swan Street, Manchester, M4 5JN

e mail letter@bigissuein the north.co.uk

So let’s let them know what we think, remember 2003 when due to the Peoples May

12 demo ME featured in 5 issues over a 6 week period, has anyone notice also who

was missing, there is the question, where is AfME and others, Spencer and the

other Pharisees that sit at the high table of the APPG meetings where they love

to be seen of men? Perhaps Spencer doesn’t want to make waves, does that remind

you of anyone. We can also name the other villains, Wessely, White and others.

Trev

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