Self-investigation in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: narrative changes and health improvement

Abstract

Objective: A small-scale intervention study into narrative self-investigation in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Method: The self-confrontation method (SCM) is an instrument to assess and change personal life stories. Forty-two adolescents diagnosed with CFS were included and randomly assigned to either 6 or 12 sessions with the SCM. Twenty-five healthy adolescents were assigned to 6 sessions. Outcome was measured directly after the self-investigation procedure at 4 months. Follow-up measurements were made 10 months later. The Checklist Individual Strength and the Child Health Questionnaire were used to measure changes in fatigue, physical and psychosocial functioning.

Results: Self-investigation resulted in significant changes in participants' narratives. Moreover, after self-investigation there was a significant improvement in fatigue, physical and psychosocial functioning for the adolescents with CFS. The patients who completed 12 sessions improved most. At follow-up, the positive effects were maintained.

Conclusion: Self-investigation enables a move beyond the symptoms of CFS in an individualized, patient centered way. Narrative transformation seems to contribute to improved physical and psychosocial outcome in adolescent CFS.

Practice implications: The SCM allows adolescents to discover (for themselves) factors that might cause or perpetuate their fatigue. The results suggest that self-investigation is a useful instrument in the management of adolescent CFS.