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It is good to see a detailed analysis of this. It is good example of the old adage 'lies, damned lies and statistics'. Statistics so easily creates make believe data.

This looks to me like a very reasonable, measured account of factitious illness cases. I think it is unwise to dismiss it as inappropriate. Illness of this sort is real. I have only come across two clear cases under my specific care but they were not in doubt. If most of them are women then...

But what if the peppermint oil works through taste and smell - like onions make you cry and curry makes you sweat? I drink peppermint because the taste makes the drink refreshing. My autonomic nervous system must think it is good.

I actually think terms like fibrofog get things backwards. How can I help, Mrs Norton? I have terrible fibro fog today. Ah, then you must have fibromyalgia Mrs Norton, try these exercises. Or: How can I help Mr Crumhorn? I am getting these Crohn cramps in my stomach. Ah, of course, Mr...

For example, it is flawed logic to suppose that a trial of CBT or other psychological therapy should somehow attempt to separate the effect of the therapy per se from the effect of the therapeutic relationship. In real clinical practice, it is impossible to have one without the other, and a...

Do have any meaningful trial evidence though? The problem we have with GET and ME-style CBT is that medical organisations are claiming that 'some people find them useful' on the basis of clinical experience, which we know is unreliable. People will say 'thank you, I found that useful' just...

I came to the conclusion that the make up of the author group and IAG was quite appropriate. I agree with Caroline that this re-hash review is pointless for the wider world. But I thought it might at least be a chance to bang some heads together. The NICE committee representatives came out...

I am not sure that one can assume that. Julia Newton may not have wanted to waste time editing something produced by therapists designed to save the jobs of therapists when she herself seems to have largely withdrawn from ME research. Those Newcastle comments had to have come from a therapist...

Yes, they love a bit of B to go with the P and S. The odd cytokine or bendy neck or blood clot. I don't see blood clots altering the landscape any time soon. If this was a real story there would be grants funded all over the shop by now. All university hospitals know about blood clots yet all we...

digital breathing?

The obvious choice, as you suggest, is old fashioned counselling. It used to be done by GPs and by psychiatrists - no need to call it anything more fancy. But like butter in a dish, counselling has been replaced by the little packages at the checkout. Counselling by someone other than family...

It sounds as if instead of either drugs or 'proper CBT' the idea is just to suggest stuff, including 'sort-of therapy', gym and meditation. People who are depressed know that they could go to the gym or meditate but they have lost the drive to do so. I can't see then point of parcelling this up...

This comment is interesting in two respects: Despite these therapies being recommended in the 2007 NICE Guideline, many clinical staff are aware of research developments revealing more about the underlying physiological processes and have listened to feedback from patients indicating that these...

Oh good, another silly quote to put in my book.

But then what is recognised by NHS psychotherapists seems to be based on magical thinking rather than evidence anyway! I bet the 'need for adaptation' is just something made up because it sounds as if it ought to be so. Either that or they found autistic people just couldn't understand what the...

Although these authors do not seem to be up to speed on evidence they do seem to have the right idea in some ways. They are questioning the validity of the false belief paradigm and the idea that treatment has to address beliefs. Their final conclusion is pretty sensible: To establish which...

I see the exercise of counting symptoms as completely facile because we use symptoms for a range of different purposes and which ones are relevant depends on the purpose but the number is irrelevant. The first task is to work out what we think is wrong. That is usually dependent on a...

But everyone knows that you are biased @adambeyoncelowe - you were on that dreadful committee.

I see that CGATist is Chris Ponting and his name comes first. That is how it should be.

I am not sure that people ho make up tings like this realise there is a difference.