Chalder, T, Deary, V, Husain, K et al. · Psychological medicine · 2010 · DOI
This study compared two types of support for teenagers with ME/CFS: family-focused cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and psycho-education (learning about the condition). Both groups improved over time, but teenagers receiving CBT returned to school faster in the first few months. However, by 6–12 months later, both groups were attending school similarly, suggesting that psycho-education alone may be just as helpful in the long run.
This is one of the few rigorous trials testing behavioural interventions in adolescents with ME/CFS, a population at critical developmental stages where school attendance is crucial. The finding that psycho-education alone achieves comparable long-term outcomes to more intensive CBT has significant implications for how services are structured and which interventions represent best value for young patients.
This study does not prove that CBT is ineffective; rather, it shows psycho-education is not inferior long-term, though CBT may offer faster initial benefit. The study does not establish mechanisms of improvement or identify which adolescent subgroups might preferentially benefit from one approach over the other. The study also does not assess whether 6 months is sufficient duration or whether different outcome measures (e.g., fatigue, function, quality of life) might show different patterns.
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
Chalder, T, Deary, V, Husain, K, & Walwyn, R (2010). Family-focused cognitive behaviour therapy versus psycho-education for chronic fatigue syndrome in 11- to 18-year-olds: a randomized controlled treatment trial.. Psychological medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329170999153X
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-chalder-2010-family-focused,
author = {Chalder, T and Deary, V and Husain, K and Walwyn, R},
title = {Family-focused cognitive behaviour therapy versus psycho-education for chronic fatigue syndrome in 11- to 18-year-olds: a randomized controlled treatment trial.},
journal = {Psychological medicine},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1017/S003329170999153X},
note = {PubMed: 19891804},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chalder-2010-family-focused},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chalder-2010-family-focused
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