About the program
More information, and personal experiences
See below for dates of upcoming courses
This program was created by Bruce Campbell, Ph.D., a CFS patient who before becoming ill was a researcher who worked on self-help programs for arthritis and other chronic illnesses at Stanford University in the USA. The program began with in-person courses in the San Francisco Bay Area, but for the last five years has been run as an online (internet) course. It has been conducted via email discussion groups, with guidance from trained volunteer moderators and using Bruce's CFIDS and Fibromyalgia Self-Help Book as the text.
The aim of the program is to help participants understand their illness better, reduce symptoms and create a more stable and predictable life. Topics covered include:
On the official web site at www.cfidsselfhelp.org there are articles that you can read to get a flavour of the program and the principles behind it. See for example: Ten Keys to Successful Coping (an overview of Bruce Campbell's approach) and Advice to a New Patient.
A small team of Australian ME/CFS/FM advocates is pioneering an in-person course based on the internet program. This enterprise has the full cooperation and approval of Dr Bruce Campbell.
The new course consists of eight sessions of one and a half hours each. The sessions are short to make it feasible for all but the most severely affected. Facilitators have appropriate qualifications and have participated in the course themselves. There is a cost involved for materials - mainly Bruce's book, although with his help this cost is being kept as low as possible.
The course has already been held very succesfully in Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra (sponsored by the ACT ME/CFS Society).
Read about the inaugural Canberra course from the point of view of the facilitator, Robyn Harris
Read what Vicki in South Australia thought of the course
Read the brochure for the South Australian course run by the Bridges and Pathways Institute [PDF]
Read how one Australian participant benefited from the course. (From Lyn's story "Travelling with FMS")
Read Bruce's own recovery story
Read a review of Bruce Campbell's CFIDS and Fibromyalgia Self-Help Book by one of the Australian course leaders.
Canberra - see the ME/CFS Society's page
Sydney - Enquiries: Greg
South Australia - March and April 2006
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