Understanding Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: An Empirical Guide to Assessment and Treatment - Hardcover

Recent studies suggest that half a million people in the United States suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)--a severe and debilitation chronic illness of unknown etiology. Many mental health practitioners are recognizing CFS patients in their practice, although they are not sure how to treat them. Understanding Chronic Fatigue Syndrome--authored by two experienced CFS clinician-researchers--is the first volume on CFS written specifically for mental health professionals, offering the latest research, informed clinical observations, and a thorough discussion of assessment methods and therapeutic approaches to this puzzling condition. This comprehensive volume also gives an overview of the history, definition, prevalence, and various explanatory models of the illness, and it includes an eight-session behavioral treatment plan that provides clinicians with detailed guidance for implementing a coping-oriented CFS group program. This cutting-edge book will be especially valuable to CFS clinicians and researchers, health psychologists, and those who explore the mind-body connection through behavioral medicine and psychoneuroimmunology.