This manual and CD package is specifically designed to help people with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, henceforth called FM/CFS, to improve their symptoms, gradually recovering and regaining a quality of life that they may not have experienced for many years. It uses a holistic mind-body approach that has been shown to be successful for almost all FM/CFS patients who have completed this group program. The educational information gives FM/CFS patients the tools to begin making changes in their lives that will promote healing. The mind-body exercises help to train the brain to relax, tune down pain signals and sleep better. The program helps individuals or groups to become motivated to take charge of their lives and care for their body/mind/spirit to get on the road to recovery. The benefit of groups is that group members share tips, encourage and inspire each other. Lasting friendships may develop after the program is completed.

This 12 week group counseling program has evolved over the past 7 years in my private medical practice for FM/CFS patients. Several hundred FM/CFS patients have benefited from it. They were referred by rheumatologists, family doctors, friends or acquaintances who have completed the program. I enjoyed facilitating the program and found it rewarding as most participants improved significantly in their symptoms.

Ideally, a group of 10-12 FM/CFS patients can meet weekly with a healthcare professional as facilitator using this manual as a guide. A family physician, nurse or counselor with a special interest in mind-body medicine could fill this role. Alternatively, an organized support group with 10-12 members willing to commit to weekly attendance and taking turns as facilitator may also do the program successfully. Begin each weekly session with a review of the educational information of each chapter, then move on to the discussion guide and end with the mind-body exercise. The relaxation mind-body exercises in each chapter are in the companion dual CD set. The whole manual is written with a simple style and a few visual graphics to help understand the material.

If you are in a small community with no organized FM/CFS support groups try using community newspapers to advertise for group participants and arrange a meeting place or one of your homes for the group to get together to follow the program. Time required for the group sessions are 1½ to 2 hours. If your symptoms are so severe that you are not able to leave your home for group sessions you can use the manual on your own along with the companion CDs and progress at your own pace following the program even if it takes several months to complete. Reading this manual cover to cover is not going to bring instant recovery. Each chapter needs at least a week to understand the concepts, integrate some changes into your life and practice the mind-body exercises. The sequence is also important; the concepts build on each other chapter by chapter. If you are doing this program on your own resist the temptation to jump around choosing the chapters that are more appealing to you. Work through this manual one chapter at a time learning the educational information and practicing the mind-body exercise related to each chapter. When you use the CDs play only the track that has the relaxation exercise for the chapter you are working on. Each track introduces the name of the mind-body exercise that corresponds to the exercise in the manual. During the week you can practice using the relaxation exercises on the CDs from the beginning up to the chapter you are working on for that week. Doing this program on your own at home would require more discipline than with a group. Make every effort to at least do it with a family member or friend to support you and schedule a weekly time slot to do the program. This will increase your chances of success.

Your progress is measured by the questionnaires you fill out prior to starting the program and again at the end. This is essential for you to see how you are doing as sometimes improvement is slow and steady and we do not notice change that is not dramatic. Sometimes significant progress is noticed after only a few weeks of participation in the program. Almost all participants in my group sessions who complete the program improve their symptoms and questionnaire scores by about 50% after only 12 weeks.

Many of you have had severe symptoms for a great length of time and have not improved or may even be getting worse. Some patients tell me they have been feeling progressively worse as if their bodies are slowly turning off or dying. No matter how severe your symptoms have been you are now ready to start your healing journey. Some of you have already made some progress and want to make further improvements in your health. I wish you all the courage, perseverance, and strength of spirit to start your journey toward health and continue on it forever after to enjoy the best quality of life for yourself and your family.