Problematic training courses - please add

I and others thought it might be useful to have a thread where people can post any training courses they come across that are dodgy or have incorrect/old/false information about ME or CFS.
At this stage it is purely for future reference purposes.
Thanks.

If you add any please could you give some idea (if applicable) which country its for.


I'll start with this one I found a while ago:
USA
https://www.continuingeducation.com/course/cmez512/fundamentals-of-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/

And this one
Based in UK
http://www.thechrysaliseffect.com/researchseries
"
Thank you so much for supporting the Research Webinar Series exploring in more detail the latest research discoverd in the PACE Trial
This webinar series is a must if you are seeing clients with the multi-faceted symptoms that lead to chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia.

As leaders in recovery it was fantastic to see Professor Sharpe’s research published this month.

His findings are somewhat controversial - 'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Sufferers can Overcome Symptoms of ME with Positive Thinking and Exercise'"

 

https://ce.mayo.edu/psychiatry-and-psychology/content/psychiatry-medical-settings-2018

Psychiatry in Medical Settings 2018
Sarasota, FL US
January 25, 2018 to January 27, 2018

The Psychiatry in Medical Settings course returns for its seventh year. The course will provide up to date reviews of depression, anxiety, somatic symptom problems, suicide risk, and substance use in medical-surgical patients. Updates also will be provided on somatic symptom disorders, functional gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, obesity, transplant psychiatry and psycho-oncology. Each day will include a Featured Topic that will be covered in depth by a group of medical and behavioral specialists through well-coordinated didactic presentations, panel discussions and interactive workshops.

Featured Topics for 2018 will be Functional Neurologic Disorders, Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Traumatic Brain Injuries.

The course has been well-attended by both mental health and general medical practitioners, providing opportunities for free exchange of ideas from multiple vantage points. The course directors are Drs. Jeffrey Staab and Robert Bright, experienced clinician-educators and researchers in the field of psychosomatic medicine.

 

Can't quite make up my mind about this one, but I suspect it is on the wrong side of middling.

https://www.yogacampus.com/specialist-courses/teaching-yoga-for-me-chronic-fatigue-syndrome

Some tentatively good ...

Some not-so-tentatively bad ...

 

From what I can gather, the WVU Medicine program below was adapted from a Stanford University program designed specifically for cancer survivors. WVU expanded the program to include various chronic diseases, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Here is the original Stanford program, which applies only to cancer survivors:

If only Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients were simply "deconditioned or chronically fatigued" like cancer patients. Yet again, medical professionals conflating "chronic fatigue" with "chronic fatigue syndrome".

Next is the WVU Medicine program, which expands the Stanford "Living Strong Living Well" strength and fitness cancer survivor program to various chronic diseases, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:

 

UK "online diploma course" for "sufferers and carers" based on the model that ME/CFS is the result of stress/burnout/adrenal fatigue. Hurry, they just dropped the price.

https://www.centreofexcellence.com/shop/mechronic-fatigue-syndrome-awareness-course/

 

One from the OHC:
"
Introduction to EFT and CFS, ME and Fibromyalgia

Overview
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is at the forefront of the new field broadly defined as Energy Psychology.

By tapping on certain acupuncture points whilst being tuned into emotions, research has found that powerful releases and healing can happen. For over a decade the team at The Optimum Health Clinic has been developing applications of EFT for working with people with CFS, ME and Fibromyalgia. In this introductory series Emma Johnson, EFT trainer and OHC psychology practitioner, teaches the fundamentals of EFT as used by the clinic team."

https://www.consciouslife.com/introduction-to-eft-cfs-me-fibromyalgia/

 

https://psychosomatic.conferenceseries.com/

 

Accredited US continuing education course for nurses. Course materials strongly promote CBT/GET.

https://www.cheapnursingceus.com/ceu-courses/chronic-fatigue-syndrome.php

Edit: Apparently the course above has been removed. There is now a "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diagnosis and Management in Adolescents" course, which, although recommending CBT, has some warnings about GET causing patient harm.

https://www.cheapnursingceus.com/ce...e-diagnosis-and-management-in-adolescents.php

 

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome included in somatoform disorders.

http://mps.ca/spring18/

Current Conceptualization and Assessment of Somatoform Disorders
Spring Workshop
Friday, May 4, 2018
Manitoba Psychological Society

 

http://psychiatry-mentalhealth.puls...for-abstracts/child-and-adolescent-psychiatry

 

This thread is so depressing. Valuable, but depressing

 

I am not sure if this is dodgy or not as haven't got access to the detail, but thought it was interesting that ME is included in a fairly well recognised (in UK) training course.

BTEC Level 3 Health and Social Care Unit 14 Physiological Disorders Learning Aim B and C resources

"
B2. Diagnostic procedures for physiological disorders
o Procedures based on specific signs and symptoms, e.g. lumbar puncture, biopsy
o Importance of recognising non-specific or confusing symptoms, e.g. myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)."

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resour...rders-learning-aim-b-and-c-resources-11967213

 

During my bank balance-draining, ten year long quest last century to find a treatment that would do something about my
ME/CFS/FM, my complementary medicine doctor put me onto this. In the spirit of leaving no stone unturned and feeling like a total nutjob, I tapped and tapped, but to no avail of course. I recall there was one unexpected effect: after tapping for a while I would take a deep breath and feel quite relaxed for a short while. A bit like meditation perhaps? I can't compare because meditation gives me the jitters.

 

I'm not sure if ME/CFS is mentioned specifically on this website about the training programme,

http://www.thriveprogramme.org/train/

but it is listed as one of the conditions people who train to be thrive consultants can supposedly help clients overcome;

https://thrivelondon.co.uk/myalgic-encephalomyelitis-me-post-viral-fatigue-pvfs-and-chronic-fatigue/

And;

http://thrivewithian.com/health-concerns-the-thrive-program-merseyside/

http://steviechan.com/the-thrive-programme/

And there's the usual, it cured my CFS claims;

http://thriveyourlife.co.uk/2017/09/30/overcame-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-learned-thrive/

It looks like the "false illness beliefs" approach to treating ME/CFS and sounds very similiar to the Lightning Process crap.

It claims to be a programme developed by Cambridge psychologists/therapists and appears to be mostly UK based, but does have consultants in a few other countries.

This statement cracks me up;

"Our methods are all evidence based. In fact the Thrive programme is a really easy way to get the benefit of loads of research papers, without having to read any of them (unless you want to, in which case we’ll give you a copy)!"
(From this page, http://robkelly.org/can-help-thrive/)

I guess that means we don't need to have any concerns that the research might not be methodologically robust as they have kindly vetted it all for us.

The page of references comes with a special heading, just in case you didn't know how scientific all this "evidenced-based" evidence is -

"WARNING: NERDY ACADEMIC STUFF BELOW!"

http://www.thriveprogramme.org/research/

I'm not sure if this is the right thread to put this in. If there is a thread I missed that warns people of the cultish - and very expensive - positive thinking psychobabble courses that claim to be able to cure their ME/CFS, please feel to relocate this.

 

There's the METRIC training from FINE trial researchers that is being promoted by the RCGPs and is heavily based on PACE/FINE.

I posted about that here: https://www.s4me.info/threads/uk-21...red-by-carol-monaghan.4468/page-20#post-85584

The Minister at Carol Monaghan's second PACE trial debate tried to present METRIC as a good thing:

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commo...4E35-A83B-49FEF0D6074F/METreatmentAndResearch

 

Not sure if this is problematic or not but looks interesting:

http://training.ucheducationcentre.org/home/viewcourse/303/

CFS/ME in Young People - Multi-professional management

ARE YOU A DOCTOR, NURSE, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST, PHYSIOTHERAPIST, PSYCHOLOGIST, TEACHER OR SOCIAL WORKER AND DEAL WITH YOUNG PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME/MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS? THEN WE HAVE THE COURSE FOR YOU!

The UCH Education Centre are proud to annouce they will be hosting a 1 day course designed to equip members of the multi-disciplinary team to better assess and manage young people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis with course leads Dr Terry Segal and Dr Emma Parish.

CFS/ME is an important disabling illness, with uncertain cause and prognosis. As a result, children with CFS/ME can find themselves living with greater uncertainty and stigma, exacerbating the impact of the condition.

Choose from sessions that cater to individuals new to the field, or to those with years of experience.

The course will include lectures and workshops covering:

• Medical diagnosis and associated conditions
• The role of psychological interventions
• Sleep and CFS
• Graded Exercise/Activity management
• Commonly used Medications
• Education and Transitions
• Patient Participation

 

This is a UK course (NHS) University College London Hospitals.
The course timetable:
http://training.ucheducationcentre.org/uploads/CFS_course_timetable_2018.pdf

one of the sessions is called
'Why not CBT or why NOT CBT - the case for practice based evidence over evidence based practice'

But I think from looking at the rest the 'spin' very much in line with the CBT/GET approach although there is a workshop on 'Pacing for experts or for the more experienced'...........not quite sure why you should have to be an expert to learn about pacing(?)

eta: also found this course being 'advertised' on this site:
http://www.youngpeopleshealth.org.uk/events/events-calendar

 

Health and Life Rebalancing Programme
https://www.fatigueguide.com/courses/

...Some of my clients had been stuck in the stress and fatigue cycle for so long that their condition had become chronic, but the recovery approach was always the same, focusing on the 3 key areas; Physical, Emotional, Psychological ( The PEP Approach) in order to rebalance the system.

As well as helping people who’ve been stuck for some time with conditions like Chronic Fatigue (CFS) and ME I also focus on helping people to avoid getting to that point. Experience has taught me that those chronic conditions don’t just suddenly arrive, when we look at the history of anyone suffering from a chronic stress-related condition there’s always been a build-up of stress over time.

Many people have shared with me that they were just getting by and then some additional stressor (a virus, work-related issue, bereavement, relationship stress etc.) arrives and seems to tip them over the edge and without the right help some of these people then get stuck for years or even decades.

What I’ve discovered is that whether the condition has become chronic, or you realise that your current stress and/or fatigue levels are unsustainable, there is a way to re-train your system, enabling you to live a happier, healthier and more fulfilling life.