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American Psychological Assoc. ME/CFS feature article 10 2014

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Please keep in mind this is the A Psychological A, not A Psychiatric A. I saw this in the original magazine page, which was advertised somewhere, maybe Co-Cure? We need these articles to keep being written every time there is major new research.
 

Snowdrop

Rebel without a biscuit
Messages
2,933
The first half of the article was wonderfully excellent.
Too bad they didn't stop there.
I know it was written for a psychology journal so I suppose I should expect psychology to enter into it. But it would have been better without the section 'treating the symptoms'.

As always, I feel obliged to point out, this quote for example: (CBT) "Therapy helped me understand that I was not becoming depressed but becoming ill," she says.

Isn't that lovely. Except she would not have thought that she was becoming depressed in the first place if it were not for Dr's disbelief in a biological cause and a mandate to refer us all to CBT for treatment. There would have been appropriate information available and if she sought out a Dr they would have been able to inform her that if it was CFS then it was biological. There would be no reason to seek CBT to rectify this mistake. The mistake she sought to rectify was a result of dysfunctional thinking of CBT adherents.

This is what I would say to the wannabe helpful CBT purveyors.

CBT. Why is this such a heavily promoted treatment protocol particularly given how much damage it has caused. Give us a break.
Enough with the CBT and how good/helpful it is when properly handled. Everybody has a dysfunctional thought or two rolling around. Why focus on ME as a home for misguided thinking patterns.
There is nothing specific about CBT that makes it specially suited to this illness and plenty about it that has done horrible abusive harm. Let it go already. Find some other illness to (more appropriately and delicately) use the wonder treatment that is CBT.

For those of us fortunate enough to have friends and/or family we can talk to then they can help with any problems we have with coping. If not them then a priest, pastor, imam, rabbi, guru. If not them then there is PR here with a large community of people who understand and offer encouragement, :hug: and descriptions of what helped them.

CBT can't even be classified as a form of communication. It is a 'talking at you', authoritarian, we don't need to know a thing about you, scripted, inflexible, not amenable to subtlety or nuance approach. When it helps remember that a stopped watch is right twice a day. Not to mention, all of the examples I've ever read about CBT being helpful are related to dealing with loss.
So I'd call that grief counselling.

There must be one heck of an investment in this (CBT) for it to be so important to keep the idea of CBT as this amazing resource alive despite it's rather large limitations in the overall treatment of the many symptoms of ME. Why keep badgering us with it despite that it's acknowledged that we have some major antipathy. Because you know so much better than we do that it is good for us?

Holy Hubris Batman.
 

xchocoholic

Senior Member
Messages
2,947
Location
Florida
Thanks for the realistic viewpoint @Snowdrop. I see what you're saying about CBT vs finding a biological reason but like you said this is meant for psychiatric community.

Overall, I found this very hopeful. Personally, seeing a therapist when I first became ill was very helpful. But seeing a caring informed doctor would've made therapy unnecessary.

Imho. The very last sentence shows that Jason understands what needs to be done.

"We as psychologists have a tremendous amount to contribute" to the CFS community, Jason says. "But it has to be an appropriate role. We can't further stigmatize these patients."

I'd like to have seen OI mentioned as a symptom of ME/CFS in this article. I wonder where the author got his/her definition.

Tc .. x
 
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DanME

Senior Member
Messages
289
I expected the worst and eventually read a very decent article! Bravo! It would have been nice, if they had mentioned Rituximab or some antivirals, but I am still surprised and intrigued.

As for CBT. It is quite simple. It should have the same role, than in any other chronic or serious biological disease. It can help you cope and make some kind of peace with it (or better to establish a cease-fire). But hey, decent article nevertheless.
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
Please keep in mind this is the A Psychological A, not A Psychiatric A. I saw this in the original magazine page, which was advertised somewhere, maybe Co-Cure? We need these articles to keep being written every time there is major new research.

Co-cure is still around? I tried to sign back up for emails, but could not even find the website!

GG
 

adreno

PR activist
Messages
4,841
Psychotherapy should be an offer to help patients cope with symptoms of (any) presently incurable disease, it shouldn't be a cop-out.

CBT is popular in academic circles because it is standardized, and therefore testable. It ins't necessarily the best form of psychotherapy for everyone. Personally, I prefer narrative or existential approaches, but some people may prefer the rigid structure of CBT.
 

chipmunk1

Senior Member
Messages
765
Great article. It was OBJECTIVE.

CBT can't even be classified as a form of communication. It is a 'talking at you', authoritarian, we don't need to know a thing about you, scripted, inflexible, not amenable to subtlety or nuance approach. When it helps remember that a stopped watch is right twice a day. Not to mention, all of the examples I've ever read about CBT being helpful are related to dealing with loss.
So I'd call that grief counselling.

There must be one heck of an investment in this (CBT) for it to be so important to keep the idea of CBT as this amazing resource alive despite it's rather large limitations in the overall treatment of the many symptoms of ME. Why keep badgering us with it despite that it's acknowledged that we have some major antipathy. Because you know so much better than we do that it is good for us?

Well i agree i think CBT is much hyped today supposed to be good for almost everything. I don't believe a word of it. Maybe it is helpful for some problems( I don't know but let's allow for this possibility) but even then it is hard to believe that it is a magic cure for personal problems and issues.

Lost your mother? Oh well don't be so depressed think some realistic/positive thoughts we will help you with that. CBT seems to view the patient as having a thought defect. Does this thought defect even exist or is it a reasonable response to certain circumstances? Does thinking differently about them change them?

"We as psychologists have a tremendous amount to contribute" to the CFS community, Jason says. "But it has to be an appropriate role. We can't further stigmatize these patients."

I disagree with that. I think they don't have much to contribute. An appropriate role would be to stay clear of serious biological illnesses.
 
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