ALT Professor of Dementia Research Richard Cheston Richard.Cheston@uwe.ac.uk Professor in Mental Health (Dementia Care) Katharine Cheston Abstract In 2008, when she was 15, Katharine Cheston became ill with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or ME. Over the next decade and more Katharine, and ourselves as a family, encountered many different psychological ideas and therapies, often being offered by non-psychologists. One such belief system involves the constuction of ME as a psychiatric illness that is perpetuated by false illness beliefs and the avoidance of exercise. This session is a personal reflection on this process, the role that shame played in our lives and the wider dearth of appropriate services for people with ME. Presentation Conference Type Presentation / Talk Conference Name Psychological Sciences Research Group meeting

ALT My daughter, Katharine, developed ME in 2008 aged 15 What I’d like to do today is to initiate a conversation about the way in which some psychologists talk about ME. I am talking from my personal experience as Katharine’s father, rather than from a position of research or clinical expertise. I also include some of Katharine’s reflections