Morey, Alice, Loades, Maria E · Child and adolescent mental health · 2021 · DOI
This review looked at how therapy called cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has been modified to help teenagers with both depression and long-term illnesses like diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease. The researchers found that CBT is often adapted by helping young people think differently about their illness, do activities they enjoy while managing their condition, and involving their family. However, there is still limited research showing how well these adapted treatments actually work for this group.
For ME/CFS patients—particularly adolescents—this review is important because it identifies one case study of ME/CFS included in CBT research and documents how psychological interventions are being adapted for young people with long-term illnesses and depression. Understanding these adaptations can inform better treatment approaches and highlight that ME/CFS deserves more dedicated research attention in this vulnerable age group.
This review does not establish that CBT is effective for treating depression in adolescents with chronic illness, as the authors explicitly state there is 'relatively little evidence to date.' It also does not prove which specific adaptations work best, nor does it demonstrate efficacy specifically in ME/CFS populations—only one ME/CFS study was identified.
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
Morey, Alice & Loades, Maria E (2021). Review: How has cognitive behaviour therapy been adapted for adolescents with comorbid depression and chronic illness? A scoping review.. Child and adolescent mental health. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12421
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-morey-2021-review-how,
author = {Morey, Alice and Loades, Maria E},
title = {Review: How has cognitive behaviour therapy been adapted for adolescents with comorbid depression and chronic illness? A scoping review.},
journal = {Child and adolescent mental health},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1111/camh.12421},
note = {PubMed: 32951336},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/morey-2021-review-how},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/morey-2021-review-how
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