Zimmermann-Schlegel, Verena, Gronewold, Nadine, Stengel, Sandra et al. · Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024 · DOI
Researchers created and tested a group therapy program for people with Post-COVID syndrome that meets weekly for 8 sessions to help manage fatigue, stress sensitivity, and other symptoms. The program was offered both in-person and online to 57 patients, and most participants found it helpful, especially valuing the chance to connect with others experiencing similar challenges. The results suggest this type of group therapy is safe and acceptable, with the online format being particularly useful for people who have difficulty leaving home.
This study addresses a critical gap in Post-COVID care by developing a low-burden, accessible intervention for patients with severe mobility limitations—a challenge directly relevant to ME/CFS populations who experience post-exertional malaise. The emphasis on online delivery and peer support reflects realistic barriers faced by severely affected patients, and demonstrates that structured psychoeducational group intervention can be safely delivered in this vulnerable population.
This feasibility study does not prove that group therapy improves Post-COVID symptoms or outcomes compared to no treatment, as there was no control group. It demonstrates acceptability and perceived helpfulness only, not objective clinical benefit. The cross-sectional nature and reliance on questionnaires cannot establish whether symptom improvement persisted beyond the intervention period or what specific components drove perceived benefit.
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
Zimmermann-Schlegel, Verena, Gronewold, Nadine, Stengel, Sandra, Hartmann, Mechthild, Merle, Uta, Friederich, Hans-Christoph, et al. (2024). Outpatient group therapy for post-COVID patients - a naturalistic feasibility study of a face-to-face and online group concept.. Frontiers in psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1500210
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-zimmermann-schlegel-2024-outpatient-group,
author = {Zimmermann-Schlegel, Verena and Gronewold, Nadine and Stengel, Sandra and Hartmann, Mechthild and Merle, Uta and Friederich, Hans-Christoph and Ditzen, Beate and Tesarz, Jonas},
title = {Outpatient group therapy for post-COVID patients - a naturalistic feasibility study of a face-to-face and online group concept.},
journal = {Frontiers in psychiatry},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1500210},
note = {PubMed: 39742330},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zimmermann-schlegel-2024-outpatient-group},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zimmermann-schlegel-2024-outpatient-group
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.