Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities are Addressed in Guide Aimed at Practitioners and Sufferers

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a perplexing and debilitating condition that affects almost one million people in the United States. It’s not uncommon for people afflicted with CFS to experience chronic pain and severe allergic reactions to chemicals. A new medical guide, authored by two psychologists from DePaul University and a third from the State University of New York (SUNY), sheds much-needed light on CFS, fibromyalgia (FMS) and multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS).

Once referred to as the “yuppie flu,” CFS now is believed to affect more than 800,000 people nationwide – cutting across racial and economic lines. Still a controversial malady, CFS is an underreported yet common condition that is often difficult to diagnose. For reasons not clearly understood by medical practitioners, CFS can be accompanied by a chronic pain disorder, known as fibromyalgia, as well as multiple chemical sensitivity, a condition characterized by a reaction to environmental chemicals and pollutants.

The book, “A Clinician’s Guide to Controversial Illnesses: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities,” is aimed at clinical health professionals and sufferers, according to its authors.

The book’s co-authors are: community psychologist Leonard Jason, a nationally-recognized expert in the area of CFS and director of DePaul’s Community Research Center; Renee Taylor, a clinical psychologist at DePaul and principal investigator of a Chicago CFS research project; and Fred Friedberg, assistant professor of psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at SUNY at Stony Brook.

In addition to research showing that CFS patients often are affected by multiple conditions rather than just one, it also is evident that these conditions are associated with both biological and psychosocial factors. Consequently, the authors outline a multidisciplinary approach to treatment that includes medical supervision, nutritional counseling, social support, psychotherapy and lifestyle modification. In addressing the psychological aspects of treatment, they offer innovative treatment strategies and a new form of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

“The book aims to provide afflicted individuals, their family and friends, and medical personnel with effective science-based methods to help assess these conditions as well as practical guidelines for helping people better cope,” explained Jason.

The guide provides a comprehensive explanation of the relationship between CFS, FMS and MCS and the treatment for each condition. According to Taylor, one of the main purposes for writing the guide was to assist medical professionals in educating practitioners on the assessment, differentiation and treatment of varying emotional and psychiatric reactions to CFS. “There is not much available that helps people differentiate between CFS, FMS and MCS,” she said. “We not only make clear distinctions between these conditions but differentiate between reactive and primary depressions that are associated with them.”

“A Clinician’s Guide to Controversial Illnesses” has been well-received by practitioners in the field. “Taylor, Friedberg and Jason have crafted a scientifically based but thoroughly readable book that brings together all that is known about the etiology, assessment and multifaceted treatment of these disorders,” said Richard A. Winett, director of the Center for Research in Health Behavior and director of clinical training at Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University. “As a practitioner – or if you or a friend or relative has one of these disorders – this book is absolutely essential reading.” Published by Professional Resource Press in Sarasota, Fla., the 178-page health guide retails for $29.95, plus shipping. Credit card orders may be placed by calling 1-800-443-3364 or by e-mail to: orders@prpress.com.