Speaker: Michael Sharpe, MD, FACLP
Description: Dr. Sharpe will tell a tangled tale of science, patient activism and policy regarding treatment of the illness called chronic fatigue syndrome or sometimes myalgic encephalomyelitis. The science, including a trial of which he was an author called the PACE trial, says that psychologically informed rehabilitation (forms of graded activity and CBT) are of value; but patient activists have long protested that it cannot be, as they believe their illness to be ‘real’ and ‘incurable’.
Activism has increasingly informed policy. Recently, in both the US and UK, government bodies have recommended against the use of GET and CBT. This year in the UK, the body that recommends treatments for the NHS called NICE, issued a report effectively banning graded activity and limiting the use of CBT to treating ‘associated distress’. This is despite there being no other treatment.
The webinar will consider potential lessons for the role of evidence and activism in official policy and the challenges for psychiatry.
Registration is required to participate in this webinar. There is no cost, or CME credit. This webinar is limited to ACLP members only.