Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia: Clinical assessment and treatment

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia(FM) are closely related ill nesses of uncertain etiology. This article reviews the research literature on these biobehavioral conditions, with an emphasis on explanatory models, clinical evaluation of comorbid psychiatric disorders, assessment of stress factors, pharmacologic and alternative therapies. and cognitive behavioral treatment studies. Furthermore, clinical protocols suitable for profession al practice are presented based on an integration of the authors' clinical observations with published data. The article concludes with the recognitio n that mental health professionals can offer substantial help to these pati ents. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.