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Finding ways to improve the quality of life for people with ME/CFS

Psychotherapist Dzintra Stalmeisters is conducting doctoral research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), in a bid to find ways to improve the quality of life for people with this illness.

Dzintra is also programme leader for the University's Diploma in Psychotherapeutics.

She has taken forward the work of the clinician and academic Dr Jeffrey Young who developed the 'schema-focused cognitive therapy approach' to address life-long self-defeating patterns called early maladaptive schemas; broad pervasive themes which mainly develop at an early age. With his colleagues: Klosko and Weishaar, Young, based on their clinical work, identified 18 early maladaptive schemas. A basic premise of Young et al's approach is that individuals with more complex problems have a number of early maladaptive schemas, which makes them vulnerable to emotional disorders.

Dzintra says that early maladaptive schemas can affect the way we perceive things and behave; mostly people are unaware they have such schemas and how they impact on their life.

Dzintra has conducted her study in three stages

Participants were sent a schema questionnaire which identified early maladaptive schemas; 80 were returned from people with no clinical condition and 42 from people with ME/CFS. Many of the participants with ME/CFS came from self-help groups. Results indicate that prominent in both groups are the schemas 'self sacrifice' and 'unrelenting standards', however to a greater extent in people with ME/CFS. About 14 people were then interviewed in more depth as Dzintra built up her qualitative research data, and she is now taking forward even more in-depth work with one person who suffers with the condition. She hopes that her work will help improve the lived experience of people with this debilitating and life changing illness.

 Other publications from this group

  • Grant A, Mulhern R, Short N and Townend M (2009) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Psychiatric Problems 2nd editions (Sage, London)
  • Grant A, Townend M, Mulhern R and Short N, (2010) (Eds) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in Mental Health Care, (Second Edition) Sage. London
  • Levinson M (2009) Working with Children in CBT in Mental Health, Care 3rd edition, (Ed) Grant A
Counselling session posed by models Counselling session posed by models