Petition the Prime Minister to limit the promotion & delivery of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy [CBT] within the NHS

I struggle enough with acute guilt arising from all the limitations having a chronic fatigue condition (fibromyalgia)impose on those with CFS without being told CBT is the answer. i am lucky in that I was referred to the CBT therapist at my GP surgery, she did the initial interview and concluded she ( and CBT) would not be of any help to me, so there you go from the mouth of a CBT therapist herself. . . . and I was referred on, and on, and still going on..

I still laugh though when I recall her asking me about my pain, one at that time was acute sharp, stabbing pains in my elbows which I described as if someone was sticking needled in to them...to which she asked " who do you think is sticking needles into your elbows?"

Er, no-one, I was just describing the pain, a lexicon all of its own to be sure!

The serious business now, please sign to register your opposition to CBT for all CF conditions, blog or email and make this huge


Serious Stuff: ME Free For All:

"Click here petitions.number10.gov.uk/NHSCBT/ for the online petition

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to limit the promotion & delivery of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy [CBT] within the NHS according to available evidence.

More details from petition creator

Following economist Lord Layard’s promotion of CBT on economic grounds, the NHS has seen a boom in the funding made available for the exclusive employment and training of CBT therapists in the NHS. However, equal funding has NOT been made available for a diverse range of psychotherapies.

CBT continues to be aggressively promoted on the grounds of ‘evidence’ of its alleged effectiveness in treating some forms of mental distress, thereby severely and unfairly biasing public perception of CBT as a cure-all when this is patently untrue. Published evidence exists that shows CBT to have no long-term benefit in treating common difficulties such as anxiety or psychosis.

Further evidence also shows CBT to worsen symptoms in people who suffer from, for example, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). As CBT is promoted on the grounds of ‘evidence’ of its effectiveness with some patients, this petition calls for the cessation of the use and promotion of CBT in the NHS where there is either no ‘evidence’ of its effectiveness or where ‘evidence’ exists to show that CBT is ineffective or deleterious to a patient’s wellbeing or symptoms"