Eleanor Stein's 3 video series for ME/CFS, FM, ES and Long Covid

RoseE · Mar 14, 2022

Eleanor has published 3 education videos as 'An Introduction to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"

Has anyone reviewed them?

I am aware of Eleanor from her 2015 publication 'Assessment and Treatment of Patients with ME/CFS: Clinical Guidelines for Psychiatrists' which I understood to have a good reputation.

Ref: https://me-pedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Stein

"These three educational videos introduce what ME/CFS is, how to diagnose it and how to manage the most common symptoms.

"The videos are adapted from recordings I created for the 1st year medical students at the University of Calgary. They are suitable for anyone relatively new to the disease: patients, loved ones, carers and health care practitioners.

"The recordings on diagnosis and management include audio clips from real patients sharing their experience.Thank you to all of the contributors ranging from people who are significantly recovered and people who remain severely ill.

"At the end of each video are resource slide/s with links to reputable websites with more information."
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The website page then invites people "Interested in learning how to improve your quality of life and do more of the things you love?" to register in Eleanor's 'Pathways to Improvement' online course for those who have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Environmental Sensitivities and Long COVID. "This course provides a step-by-step guided program to help you feel and live better."

https://www.eleanorsteinmd.ca/ME-CFS-introduction-videos

Wyva · Mar 14, 2022

I haven't watched the videos but I remember coming across her website in the past and that I found some odd things, for example:

Transforming Pain Group – This group guides participants in using the brain’s ability to rewire itself to unlearn pain. We utilize the manual Neuroplastic Transformation by Drs. Michael Moskowitz and Marla Golden. This group is open to all with persistent pain. Previous participation in the Self-Management Group is recommended but is not mandatory. All participants will be screened by phone prior to the group to assess readiness to join. The group meets every other week. Rewiring the brain takes at least one hour of daily practice. Many participants choose to repeat the group to solidify and expand their progress.

Sleeping Soundly Group – Eight sessions – This group teaches CBTi theory (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) and skills and supports participants in choosing and implementing changes in sleep-related behavior and thoughts. This group is open to all with insomnia. Previous participation in the Self-Management Group is recommended but is not mandatory. We use the manual Quiet your Mind and Get to Sleep by Rachel Manber and Colleen Carney as a guide. Each referred participant will meet with Dr. Stein for a pre-group sleep assessment to identify individual goals. The group meets every other week. The homework takes approximately 10 minutes daily and involves keeping a sleep diary and implementing trials of behavioral change.

Source: https://www.eleanorsteinmd.ca/In Person Services
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Or:

In Pathways to Improvement, you will experience the validation that what you experience is real, that millions of others have similar challenges and that even after decades of illness, improvement is possible.

You will learn strategies to take control of your own health so that you can spend your time, energy and money on what you enjoy instead of on medical care.

You will be guided to develop a manageable, step-by-step plan to start doing more of what you love.

As you notice small improvements in yourself and others, you may notice hope and enthusiasm creeping back into your life.

In the 20 years Dr. Stein has been offering in-person self-management groups, these types of improvements are the norm, not the exception. When people realize they have agency and can make their health and lives better, they are off and running down the Pathway to Improvement.

About Eleanor Stein MD, FRCP(C)
As a medical specialist in psychiatry, I have dedicated my practice to ME/CFS, FM and ES for the past 20 years. I got into this field after developing ME/CFS, FM and MCS in 1989. My health symptoms limited my ability to work and function every day for over 28 years. Then about three years ago many of the symptoms, including disabling fatigue, lifted. Why do I think this happened?

Over the past seven years I have been intensively studying and practicing methods of change based on neuroplasticity. Many people, including myself, who stabilized their health with self-management are reporting improvements with these new strategies. The science of neuroplasticity teaches us how to create change. By sharing what I have learned with you, I hope your pathway to improvement will be faster than mine.

People tell me that the experience of being in a group with others who “get it” can be life changing.

Source: https://www.eleanorsteinmd.ca/pathways
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Trish · Mar 14, 2022

I watched the treatment section. Some of it is fine, including sensible advice to trainee doctors to believe their patients, take symptoms one step at a time to try to help with symptomatic treatments according to which the patient finds most disabling, pacing, etc. But then there was the mention of mind body techniques for pain, and CBT for sleep, which all sounded pretty dubious to me.

Dolphin · Mar 16, 2022

Trish said: ↑

I watched the treatment section. Some of it is fine, including sensible advice to trainee doctors to believe their patients, take symptoms one step at a time to try to help with symptomatic treatments according to which the patient finds most disabling, pacing, etc. But then there was the mention of mind body techniques for pain, and CBT for sleep, which all sounded pretty dubious to me.
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I haven't watched the third one and probably won't after these comments, but I thought the other two were useful.
The second one discusses mast cell activation which I know some considered controversial.

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Eleanor Stein's 3 video series for ME/CFS, FM, ES and Long Covid

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