Chronisches Fatigue-Syndrom, 2026, Alexa Alica Kupferschmitt & Volker Köllner

Sean said:
This incident may actually end up playing in our favour. It is just far too brazen and nasty, and at the wrong time in history, to be able to get away with like they once might have.
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Heh, I don't know. The Cochrane review debacle should have been that, and yet it didn't make a scratch in the plot armor. It definitely should, but muh narrative.
 
The textbook chapter that keeps on giving...
From Ronja Büchner (Schomerus team) on Bluesky.
Machine translated:

Guidance on appropriate break management (implement timely breaks and design them meaningfully, such as avoiding browsing the web)​

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I am so glad that K & K have revised their chapter, as it allows me to share this profound therapy tip—specifically tailored for those of you living with 'CFS'—to start your day. Make the most of it!​
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"Anleitung zu angemessenem Pausenmanagement (Pausen rechtzeitig einlegen und sinnvoll gestalten, also z. B. nicht im Internet surfen)"​

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Bin so froh, dass K & K ihr Kapitel überarbeitet haben, denn so kann ich euch diesen speziell auf euch „CFS“-Patient*innen zugeschnittenen, tiefschürfenden Therapietipp mit in den Tag geben - macht was draus​
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I really enjoyed this comment on the post:

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I wish they’d included how to make breaks “meaningful”… We’d have had memes for months all over again…​
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ich wünschte sie hätten dazugeschrieben, wie man pausen "sinnvoll" gestaltet... da hätten wir doch direkt wieder memes für monate gehabt...​
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Jonathan Edwards said:
There are two editors who also make contributions to a large number of chapters - Linden and Hautzinger. I think it is perfectly possible that the editors rewrote sections and added in inappropriate material without the chapter authors knowing.
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Breaking news, I guess...

From Professor Köllner's LinkedIn:

It has now become clear that the disputed passages were added to our text by Prof. Linden, as the editor in charge, without prior consultation. Springer has issued an erratum regarding this matter: https://Inkd.in/dRiMnZuU. The correct chapter is now available online and will also appear in the print edition. We would like to thank Springer for their support and transparency.

Inzwischen wurde klar, dass die strittigen Textpassagen von Prof. Linden als zuständigem Herausgeber nachträglich und ohne Rücksprache in unseren Text eingefügt wurden. Der Springer-Verlag hat hierzu ein
Erratum veröffentlicht: https://inkd.in/dRiMnZuU.
Inzwischen wurde das korrekte Kapitel von Springer online gestellt und auch die Druckauflage wird mit dem korrekten Kapitel erscheinen. Wir danken dem Springer-Verlag an dieser Stelle ausdrücklich für seine Unterstützung und Transparenz.
 
From Bluesky, machine translated:

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What motive could drive an editor to unauthorizedly add stigmatizing narratives regarding patients to a text written by others? At this stage, a formal position from the psychotherapy scientific community is the very least that can be expected.​
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And to be absolutely clear: as long as Volker Köllner and Alexa Kupferschmitt refuse to stand with the patients—which they fail to do in their new version—they are not the victims here; the people with ME/CFS are.​
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While the new chapter is less stigmatizing, it remains violent toward people with ME/CFS, meaning the authors remain the perpetrators.​
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Chandelier said:
What motive could drive an editor to unauthorizedly add stigmatizing narratives regarding patients to a text written by others?
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Hubris.

It does not seem to enter their heads, as I have said before in relation to Simon Wessely, that it is totally unprofessional for a psychiatrist or psychologist to make remarks like this in public documents. Sympathetic handling of ill people who are aggrieved for whatever reason is a routine part of their job.
 
Jonathan Edwards said:
The whole thing is a disgrace. The entire book should be withdrawn.
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Jonathan Edwards said:
It does not seem to enter their heads, as I have said before in relation to Simon Wessely, that it is totally unprofessional for a psychiatrist or psychologist to make remarks like this in public documents. Sympathetic handling of ill people who are aggrieved for whatever reason is a routine part of their job.
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Mirja Nicolas @privilegienschreck.bsky.social
And on that note, Happy Mental Health Day, or whatever.
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The editor Professor Michael Linden wrote an article about fatigue syndromes in 2022, see thread
[GER, Translated] The spectrum of fatigue syndromes, 2022, Michael Linden

Wikipedia says he works at the Charité Berlin but links to those pages don't work anymore.
Linden ist gegenwärtig Leiter der Forschungsgruppe Psychosomatische Rehabilitation an der Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
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Given his birth year is 1948, he might have retired.
 
Jonathan Edwards said:
The whole thing is a disgrace. The entire book should be withdrawn.
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Some thoughts by lawyer Dr. Daniel Loy on Bluesky:


Dr. Daniel Loy @drdanielloy.bsky.social
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If this is true, which safeguards at the publisher failed? How was an editor able to insert substantive statements into the chapter without the authors’ knowledge? What approvals were required, and why did they not prevent publication?

Above all, how is Springer ensuring that other chapters in this handbook—or even other publications—have not been affected by similar changes? Are the published versions systematically compared with the approved manuscripts?

And what about the print edition? As recently as October 9, at least one copy containing the passages in question was delivered. Köllner says a corrected print edition is to be published. But what will happen to copies that have already been distributed? How will their buyers be informed?
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Wenn das zutrifft: Welche Kontrollen haben im Verlag versagt? Wie konnte ein Herausgeber substanzielle Aussagen in das Kapitel einfügen, ohne dass die Autoren davon erfuhren? Welche Freigaben waren vorgesehen und warum wurde die Veröffentlichung nicht verhindert?



Vor allem: Wie stellt der Springer-Verlag sicher, dass nicht auch andere Kapitel dieses Handbuchs oder gar weitere Publikationen von vergleichbaren Eingriffen betroffen sind? Werden die veröffentlichten Fassungen systematisch mit den freigegebenen Manuskripten abgeglichen?



Und die Druckausgabe? Noch am 9. Oktober wurde mindestens ein Exemplar mit den beanstandeten Passagen ausgeliefert. Laut Köllner soll eine korrigierte Druckfassung erscheinen. Was geschieht aber mit bereits vertriebenen Exemplaren? Wie werden deren Käufer informiert?
 
Chandelier said:
The editor Professor Michael Linden wrote an article about fatigue syndromes in 2022, see thread
[GER, Translated] The spectrum of fatigue syndromes, 2022, Michael Linden

Wikipedia says he works at the Charité Berlin but links to those pages don't work anymore.

Given his birth year is 1948, he might have retired.
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@dave30th
From Twitter:

Christian Humer @grashalm_
Prof. Michael Linden proposed post-traumatic embitterment disorder (PTED) in 2003. As with hysteria, understandable suffering or legitimate protest is pathologized. There has been insufficient scientific evidence to support this for 23 years.

Prof. Michael Linden hat 2003 die posttraumatische Verbitterungsstörung (PTED) vorgeschlagen. Wie bei der Hysterie wird nachvollziehbares Leid oder berechtigter Protest pathologisiert. Ausreichende wissenschaftliche Evidenz fehlt dazu seit 23 Jahren.
 
Even with the offending parts removed, it's just not good content, certainly not worth publishing. I don't even know why Volker and Kollner decided they knew enough to write about this. Not that it's not a common thing. And frankly them thanking the editor for their transparency, when they were anything but, reeks of a cover up where Linden, being likely retired, takes harmless flak for the team and everyone pretends like they were the real victims. There is simply too much precedent for these things to take anyone at their word here, no one involved has credibility.

Frankly, the Linden version is the quiet part loud, and what's left after removing it is just the quiet part. They are both equally problematic, and only serve to display people proud of their ignorance, and a publishing process that is broken beyond repairs. Just have the latest Opus do it instead, it'd do such a better job at it and it's not even close.
 
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Chandelier said:
The editor Professor Michael Linden wrote an article about fatigue syndromes in 2022, see thread
[GER, Translated] The spectrum of fatigue syndromes, 2022, Michael Linden

Wikipedia says he works at the Charité Berlin but links to those pages don't work anymore.

Given his birth year is 1948, he might have retired.
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Professor Michael Linden​

ME/CFS​

I dug around a bit more and found two papers where Professor Linden mentions ME/CFS explicitly.
Here are the threads:
[GER, Translated] The spectrum of fatigue syndromes, 2022, Michael Linden

[GER] Validation of subjective complaints: differential diagnosis of “healthy suffering” using fatigue as an example, 2024, Michael Linden

Wisdom​

Moreover, regarding
Jonathan Edwards said:
Hubris.
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Professor Linden published more than a dozen papers on wisdom applied to psychotherapy, such as:

Wisdom psychotherapy in adjustment disorders. Results of a randomized controlled study

Post-traumatic Embitterment Disorder​

Judging from the following study title, we might not be the only patient group that he perceives as querulants:

Querulant delusion and post-traumatic embitterment disorder

Side-effects of Psychotherapy​


Effects of talking about side effects versus not talking about side effects on the therapeutic alliance: A controlled clinical trial [hint: talking is good]

Side effects in cognitive–behavioral, psychodynamic, and psychoanalytic outpatient psychotherapy are associated with the level of personality functioning. [hint: lower levels of personality functioning is bad]
 
dave30th said:
Ah, no! Thanks, will have to amend!!
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It’s very good that this gets some coverage. Springer still have not said anything officially themselves. Personally, I think the responsible editor should be fired - it’s such a gross error of judgement that they can’t possibly be fit to be an editor of any journal. They have made what are pretty much defamatory statements about patients on behalf of the authors.
 
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