Simpson, M · The Journal of analytical psychology · 1997 · DOI
This study describes the therapy of one 20-year-old woman who experienced concentration and memory difficulties she attributed to ME/CFS. Through dream analysis and psychological exploration, a therapist found that her symptoms may have been connected to unresolved emotional conflicts with her mother. After working through these psychological issues in therapy, her symptoms improved.
This study is relevant to the ongoing discussion about psychological factors in ME/CFS by presenting one patient's experience of symptom resolution through psychological work. It may be of interest to patients exploring multiple contributors to their condition and to clinicians considering the role of psychoanalytic approaches in ME/CFS care.
This single case study cannot establish that psychological factors cause ME/CFS, nor can it demonstrate that psychoanalytic therapy is an effective treatment for the condition broadly. The improvement in this one patient does not prove that similar psychological mechanisms underlie ME/CFS in other patients, as ME/CFS has documented biomedical abnormalities independent of psychological factors. Correlation between therapeutic insight and symptom improvement does not establish 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
Simpson, M (1997). A body with chronic fatigue syndrome as a battleground for the fight to separate from the mother.. The Journal of analytical psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-5922.1997.00201.x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-simpson-1997-body-chronic,
author = {Simpson, M},
title = {A body with chronic fatigue syndrome as a battleground for the fight to separate from the mother.},
journal = {The Journal of analytical psychology},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1111/j.1465-5922.1997.00201.x},
note = {PubMed: 9161121},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/simpson-1997-body-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/simpson-1997-body-chronic
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