Burgess, Mary, Andiappan, Manoharan, Chalder, Trudie · Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy · 2012 · DOI
This study tested whether cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) delivered over the telephone works as well as face-to-face CBT for ME/CFS. Patients received either telephone sessions or in-person sessions, plus two face-to-face appointments for assessment and discharge. Both groups improved significantly in fatigue and physical functioning, and these improvements lasted for a year after treatment ended.
This study provides evidence that CBT can be effectively delivered remotely via telephone, which is particularly important for ME/CFS patients who experience severe fatigue or mobility limitations that make hospital attendance difficult. The findings expand treatment accessibility and demonstrate that geographical and mobility barriers need not prevent patients from accessing evidence-based psychological therapy.
This study does not prove that CBT cures ME/CFS or addresses underlying biological mechanisms of the disease. The high dropout rate means we cannot fully understand how many patients found either treatment unsustainable. Additionally, the study does not determine which specific components of CBT drive improvement, nor does it compare CBT to untreated control groups or other active treatments.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Burgess, Mary, Andiappan, Manoharan, & Chalder, Trudie (2012). Cognitive behaviour therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome in adults: face to face versus telephone treatment: a randomized controlled trial.. Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465811000543
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-burgess-2012-cognitive-behaviour,
author = {Burgess, Mary and Andiappan, Manoharan and Chalder, Trudie},
title = {Cognitive behaviour therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome in adults: face to face versus telephone treatment: a randomized controlled trial.},
journal = {Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1017/S1352465811000543},
note = {PubMed: 21929831},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/burgess-2012-cognitive-behaviour},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/burgess-2012-cognitive-behaviour
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