Wessely school

The Wessely school is an informal name used to refer to school of thought followed by a group of researchers and clinicans who promote psychiatrist Prof. Simon Wessley's biopsychosocial model understanding ME/CFS. The Wessely school is based in the UK and is extremely influential, and research conducted by participants in the Wessley school has received millions [ of British pounds ]</nowiki] in UK funding for highly controversial clinical trials of cognitive behavioral therapy and Graded Exercise Therapy.

The Wessely school is dominated by psychiatrists and psychologists, but also includes some physiotherapists, occupational health clinicians, and general practitioners.

Beliefs and Evidence

 * Simon Wessely has referred to ME/CFS as "medically unexplained symptoms" on many occasions.


 * Conducting biological or physical tests is actively avoided


 * Dysfunctional illness beliefs are believed to exist in patients with M.E./CFS


 * The role of the physical symptoms of patients should be minimized


 * Patients who receive health insurance payouts or disability benefits are believed to have a lower prospect of recovery; "secondary gain" and assuming a "sickness role" are considered obstacles to recovery


 * Patients have been criticized by some of the Wessely school for "harassment", including submitting Freedom of Information Act requests for data resulting from clinical trials involving some if the Wessley school

Notable people
Simon Wessely

Michael Sharpe

Peter White

Trudie Chalder

Notable studies
PACE trial

FINE trial

MAGENTA trial

Location
Followers of the Wessely school are based in a number of different locations, including:


 * Queen Mary University (see PACE trial)
 * King's College, University of London

Funding, Influence and Conflicts of interest
The UK's Medical Research Council provides a great deal of funding to research by Wessley school proponents. The UK's Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), which provides social security payments for people with disabilities or on very low incomes, also provided considerable funding to the PACE trial - despite never previously funding health research.

The initial Wessley school conference, which took place in 1988, was sponsored by drug company Novartis.

A number of members of the Wessely school have undertaken wirk for private health insurance companies including UNUM, the Department of Work and Pensions, and pharmaceutical companies.

Simon Wessely played a key role in developing the previous NHS treatment guidelines for ME/CFS, known as the NICE guidelines. He was not directly involved with the 2007 update, nor is he believed to be part of the current working group revising those guidelines.

Prof. Wessely also provided the previous Cochrane reviewers with extremely extensive publications.

Influence
The Wessely school is extremely influential, and Prof Simon Wessely is current president of the Royal College of Pstchiatrists.

Criticism of the Wessley school

 * Margaret Williams has criticised both Simon Wessely and the Wessely school proponents of "disdain" towards people with ME/CFS.


 * Malcolm Hooper


 * Tom Kindlon and Alem Matthees, both advocates with M.E., have criticised the PACE trial in particular.


 * MEActionUK