Rimes, Katharine A, Wingrove, Janet · Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2013 · DOI
This study tested whether a mindfulness and meditation-based therapy could help people with ME/CFS who weren't getting better with standard cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) alone. Researchers randomly gave some patients the new mindfulness therapy while others waited, then compared how they did. The mindfulness therapy helped reduce fatigue and improved mood, and patients found it helpful and acceptable.
Many ME/CFS patients don't fully recover with standard CBT, leaving them searching for additional effective treatments. This is the first randomized pilot study showing a mindfulness-based approach could help these patients—potentially offering hope to the ~70% who remain severely fatigued after conventional therapy. If confirmed in larger trials, this could expand treatment options for this difficult-to-treat population.
This small pilot study does not prove MBCT is universally effective for CBT-refractory ME/CFS; it only suggests promise warranting larger investigation. The study cannot establish whether MBCT works through mindfulness mechanisms specifically or through other therapeutic factors like attention and support. Results may not generalize to all ME/CFS patients, particularly those with different disease profiles or those who have not attempted CBT.
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
Rimes, Katharine A & Wingrove, Janet (2013). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people with chronic fatigue syndrome still experiencing excessive fatigue after cognitive behaviour therapy: a pilot randomized study.. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.793
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rimes-2013-mindfulness-based,
author = {Rimes, Katharine A and Wingrove, Janet},
title = {Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people with chronic fatigue syndrome still experiencing excessive fatigue after cognitive behaviour therapy: a pilot randomized study.},
journal = {Clinical psychology & psychotherapy},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1002/cpp.793},
note = {PubMed: 21983916},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rimes-2013-mindfulness-based},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rimes-2013-mindfulness-based
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