The authors wrote "A minimal intervention, based on cognitive–behavioural therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome and consisting of self-instructions combined with email contact, was tested in a randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN27293439). A total of 171 patients participated in the trial: 85 were allocated to the intervention condition and 86 to the waiting-list condition. All patients met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome. An intention-to-treat analysis showed a significant decrease in fatigue and disability after self-instruction. The level of disability was negatively correlated with treatment outcome. Guided self-instructions are an effective treatment for patients with relatively less severe chronic fatigue syndrome."

Seven widely recommended CBT self-help books were assessed for needed reading age. This was found to be between 12.6 and 15.4 years - a potential problem for a significant proportion of the UK population.