The World ME Alliance and its members have worked closely over the past few months to reach a collective position on the Lightning Process. 

The Lightning Process is a commercial training programme that is promoted by practitioners as a cure or treatment for ME without due evidence. Additionally, there are reports of people with ME experiencing a worsening of their symptoms and functioning after undertaking the programme. 

Some member organisations are experiencing great difficulty with misinformation in their countries, and therefore asked the Alliance for support in reaching an evidence-based collective position. 

Oved Amitay, co-chair of the World ME Alliance and President and CEO of Solve M.E., tells us:

“We’re taking this unusual position because of the unusual circumstances. What we recommend here is really based on our philosophy that what our community deserves is well-researched, evidence based treatments.” 

The position paper states:

The World ME Alliance and its members do not endorse the Lightning Process for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), sometimes called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

It then goes on to assess the evidence, explore a key symptom of ME – post-exertional malaise – and consider the void in treatment approaches currently facing the community. 

The paper concludes:

World ME Alliance members have decided to make this extraordinary statement in response
to growing concerns that continued promotion of the Lightning Process is likely to cause
more harm to people with ME. On the basis of the best available evidence, our Alliance
member organisations collectively agree that we do not endorse the Lightning Process for
people with ME.

People with ME deserve evidence-based healthcare and research into the causes and
treatment of their disease.

Read or download the full position paper below.