Brooke Denmark, a student working on her Masters in Social Work, contacted the Bateman Horne Center asking us to share her thesis research questionnaire in order to garner feedback from those living with ME/CFS.  Your participation as a research participants merely involves responding to an online questionnaire.

The Bateman Horne Center was not involved in the creation of the questionnaire, but Dr. Bateman has reviewed it and we invite you to offer your invaluable insights and feedback.

Help therapists learn how to help, not harm, people with ME/CFS!

by Brooke Denmark

I am a Master of Social Work student and I chose to do this study because I have a family member with the disease. I am doing research about experiences and opinions that people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) have about therapy. Even if you have never been to therapy, I welcome your participation and invite you to share your opinions about what you think would be most/least helpful. Speak up and share your thoughts!

I chose to do this study because I have a family member affected by this disease and I wanted to find a way as a clinical social work student to help educate other social workers about how to best support people struggling with ME/CFS without causing greater harm.

This study protocol has been reviewed and approved by the Smith College School for Social Work Human Subjects Review Committee (HSRC).

I understand that some researchers and providers have caused many people with ME/CFS to feel invalidated. If you choose to complete the following survey, I urge you to share these experiences. There are also people who may have experiences where psychotherapy helped provide them with emotional support during a difficult time and would like to share what approaches they found most helpful. Others may not have had the opportunity to seek mental health services for various reasons, but may have opinions about what would make desired therapy more accessible or what they would like therapists to know.

Please share the good, the bad, and the ugly about your experiences in the comments sections, as well as what you would like to see change. This is an unfunded study and I have no affiliations with any other institutions other than Smith College School for Social Work, where I am studying in a Master of Social Work program. 

To participate please click HERE: ME/CFS and Mental Health Treatment Survey