Wiborg, Jan F, van Bussel, Jose, van Dijk, Agaat et al. · Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2015 · DOI
This study tested whether cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)—a type of talking therapy that helps people change thought patterns and behaviours—could help people with ME/CFS when delivered in group settings. 204 patients were randomly assigned to either receive group CBT or join a waiting list. Those who received CBT showed significant improvements in fatigue severity, physical functioning, and overall quality of life compared to those who waited.
This study provides evidence that group-based CBT is an effective treatment option for ME/CFS, which is important because group delivery can make therapy more accessible and affordable than individual treatment. The finding that both small and large groups work equally well has practical implications for healthcare systems with limited resources.
This study does not prove that CBT addresses the underlying biological mechanisms of ME/CFS, nor does it establish that symptom improvement represents true recovery of physical capacity rather than changes in symptom perception or reporting. The open-label design (patients knew they were receiving treatment) may have introduced expectancy effects that inflated reported benefits.
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
Wiborg, Jan F, van Bussel, Jose, van Dijk, Agaat, Bleijenberg, Gijs, & Knoop, Hans (2015). Randomised controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy delivered in groups of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics. https://doi.org/10.1159/000438867
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-wiborg-2015-randomised-controlled,
author = {Wiborg, Jan F and van Bussel, Jose and van Dijk, Agaat and Bleijenberg, Gijs and Knoop, Hans},
title = {Randomised controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy delivered in groups of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Psychotherapy and psychosomatics},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1159/000438867},
note = {PubMed: 26402868},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wiborg-2015-randomised-controlled},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wiborg-2015-randomised-controlled
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