We are beyond thrilled to announce a major milestone that we have been eagerly waiting to share with you all!
The first official research article evaluating The Switch has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior. We have been working incredibly hard to make this a reality, and we couldn't have done it without the dedication of our fantastic researcher and professor, Suzanne Barker-Collo.
What is the research about?
The study followed more than 100 participants experiencing long-term disabling fatigue over the course of a year, evaluating changes in fatigue, physical functioning, emotional wellbeing and quality of life over time.
The Results:
The findings are highly encouraging!
- Participants experienced statistically significant improvements across almost every measure assessed within the first two months after completing The Switch.
- Importantly, these improvements were not simply short-term. Several measures—including physical role functioning and emotional wellbeing—continued to improve between the two-month and twelve-month follow-up assessments, suggesting that many participants continued making progress long after completing the programme.
- The study also found comparable outcomes for participants attending online via Zoom and those participating face-to-face, indicating that The Switch can be delivered effectively in either format.
As with any first study, further research—including larger controlled clinical trials—is needed. However, these findings provide encouraging initial evidence and a strong foundation for future research into mind-body retraining approaches for chronic fatigue.
We are so proud of this step forward in chronic fatigue research and hope it brings hope to those currently struggling.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
Ensuring independent analysis
Because Mel Abbott developed The Switch, she had no involvement in the statistical analysis of the data. Participant data were coded and independently analysed by Professor Suzanne Barker-Collo before the findings were interpreted.
Before publication, the paper underwent independent peer review by experts in the field. The reviewers carefully examined the study design, statistical analysis and conclusions, resulting in several rounds of revisions before the paper was accepted for publication.
Although 94% of participants reported having been diagnosed by a medical practitioner with ME/CFS or Long COVID, the published paper uses the broader research term idiopathic chronic fatigue because diagnoses were self-reported rather than independently verified through medical records.
Looking ahead
For years, we've witnessed people make remarkable improvements through The Switch. Seeing those clinical observations now beginning to be reflected in peer-reviewed research is an exciting milestone.
We hope these findings encourage further research into The Switch for many chronic illnesses and, most importantly, bring hope to people living with these debilitating conditions.
We are deeply grateful to Professor Suzanne Barker-Collo and to every participant who generously shared their experiences to help advance our understanding.
This publication is not the end of the journey—it's the beginning.
