Research highlights:
- Interdisciplinary group treatment may improve quality of life in CFS/ME.
- Psychological Flexibility (PF) has applied utility in the treatment of CFS/ME.
- Changes in PF activity/occupational engagement suggest greatest benefit in CFS/ME.
Research abstract:
Objective: Psychological Flexibility (PF) is a relatively new concept in physical health. It can be defined as an overarching process of being able to accept the presence of wanted/unwanted experiences, choosing whether to change or persist in behaviour in response to those experiences. Associations between processes of PF and quality of life (QoL) have been found in long-term health conditions such as chronic pain, PF has not yet been applied to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).
Methods: Changes in PF, fatigue severity and QoL were examined in one hundred and sixty-five patients with CFS/ME engaged in a six-week outpatient interdisciplinary group treatment programme. Participants were assessed using a series of self-report measures at the start of the start (T1) and end of a six-week programme (T2) and at six months follow up (T3).
Results: Significant changes in PF and QoL were observed from pre-treatment (T1) to post treatment follow-up (T2 and T3); changes in fatigue severity were observed from T1 to T3 only. Controlling for fatigue severity, changes in the PF dimension of activity/ occupational engagement were associated with improvement in QoL at six month follow up (T3) but not at six weeks post programme (T2).
Conclusion: Findings indicate an interdisciplinary group treatment approach for people with CFS/ME may be associated with improved QoL, processes of PF and fatigue severity, supporting a link between PF and long term health conditions. Results highlight links between PF and patient QoL in CFS/ME and the value of interdisciplinary treatment approaches in this patient population.
Enhanced psychological flexibility and improved quality of life in chronic fatigue syndrome/ myalgic encephalomyelitis, by Sarah Densham,Deborah Williams, Anne Johnson, Julie M. Turner-Cobb in Journal of Psychosomatic Research Vol 88, Sep 2016, Pp 42–47 [Published online: July 2016]
