Alex, To answer your question....
When I had the CBT, ( it was 2009 not 2007 ) I was newly diagnosed...naive and desparate. I remember crying through most of it so its all a bit of a blur. I would, of course, have done or said anything to get better.
I will say that the counsellor was kind, and at the time, to have someone to talk to and listen to me was extremely helpful......I was not intimidated....the questionaires were given after the sessions and not referred back to as far as I can remember.
There was the sense though, that you were taking part in a formulaic process. It was laid down in the book 'Overcoming Chronic Fatigue' by Trudie Chalder, which aimed to reverse the following, which is familiar to us all now....
You had Glandular Fever,...you went to bed for too long,....you got deconditioned......and now you've got yourself CFS.
What I do remember is the expectation that I could somehow control my symptoms by behaving differently and stopping my catastrophizing.
There not pressure as such, more an assumption that if you did the right thing you would improve. I don't remember ever saying..."but I'm not better". It just kind of ended and that was it...
It reminded me of the time I tried hypnotherapy for a bout of insomnia ( pre ME) . It had no effect... but I pretended to be hypnotised because I felt sorry for the therapist....