Daniels, Jo, Loades, Maria E · Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2017 · DOI
This study looked at treating ME/CFS in one patient who also had anxiety about their health. Instead of using standard treatments alone, doctors used a customized approach combining techniques for both the physical fatigue and the worry about health. After 8 sessions, the patient's symptoms improved significantly and stayed better a year later, suggesting this combined approach might help others with ME/CFS.
Most current ME/CFS treatments produce only modest improvements, and health anxiety often co-occurs but remains untreated. This study suggests that addressing both physical symptoms and health-related anxiety together—rather than separately—may be more effective and efficient, potentially offering a faster treatment course than standard approaches.
This single-case study cannot establish whether this treatment works for most ME/CFS patients or prove that health anxiety causes CFS symptoms. The dramatic improvement in one patient does not mean all patients will respond similarly, and without a control group, we cannot rule out placebo effects or natural recovery. Correlation between anxiety reduction and symptom improvement does not prove causation.
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
Daniels, Jo & Loades, Maria E (2017). A Novel Approach to Treating CFS and Co-morbid Health Anxiety: A Case Study.. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2042
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-daniels-2017-novel-approach,
author = {Daniels, Jo and Loades, Maria E},
title = {A Novel Approach to Treating CFS and Co-morbid Health Anxiety: A Case Study.},
journal = {Clinical psychology & psychotherapy},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1002/cpp.2042},
note = {PubMed: 27714891},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/daniels-2017-novel-approach},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/daniels-2017-novel-approach
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