Detecting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Role of Counselors

✍ Scribed by Frank Albrecht; Marsha Wallace

• Book ID: 102285781
• Publisher: American Counseling Association
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 111 KB
• Volume: 76
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1556-6678
• DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.1998.tb02391.x

✦ Synopsis

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a physical illness, the cause of which is unknown. Known also as chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome and myalgic encepalomyelitis, the illness has a probable incidence of 2 to 3 per 1,000 among adults and adolescents and is seen also in children. Only a small minority of cases are diagnosed, and only 25% of those suffering from CFS suspect this as the diagnosis. For this reason, counselors often see persons with unsuspected cases and may play an impor tant role in detecting and referring these clients appropriately. Case histories are used to illustrate how suspected cases of CFS can be distinguished from depression and other mental health conditions in counseling practice.