Garralda, M Elena · Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2002 · DOI
This review examined how doctors can help children with unexplained medical symptoms, including chronic fatigue syndrome. The authors looked at different treatment approaches, particularly psychological and behavioral therapies, and found that many children improved with these methods. However, they note that more rigorous research is needed to confirm which treatments work best.
Understanding psychiatric and behavioral management approaches for medically unexplained symptoms is relevant to ME/CFS care, as some children experience functional impairment and psychological comorbidities. This review evaluates which therapeutic strategies have evidence and which require validation, informing patient discussions about treatment options and research priorities.
This narrative review does not establish causation or prove that psychiatric interventions are universally effective for all patients with ME/CFS-like illnesses. The review synthesis is not a systematic or meta-analytic assessment, and the authors themselves note that clinical guidelines lack empiric validation, meaning benefit claims are based on clinical observation rather than controlled evidence.
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
Garralda, M Elena (2002). Psychiatric management of severe somatoform disorders in childhood and adolescence.. Acta neuropsychiatrica. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1601-5215.2002.140207.x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-garralda-2002-psychiatric-management,
author = {Garralda, M Elena},
title = {Psychiatric management of severe somatoform disorders in childhood and adolescence.},
journal = {Acta neuropsychiatrica},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1034/j.1601-5215.2002.140207.x},
note = {PubMed: 26983971},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/garralda-2002-psychiatric-management},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/garralda-2002-psychiatric-management
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