About My MS Toolkit
Living with MS often means managing several symptoms at once, such as pain, fatigue, and changes in mood. My MS Toolkit was created to help: a free, web-based, self-guided program that gives people with MS practical tools and strategies for managing their symptoms in ways that work for them.
The program was developed by a team of clinical psychologists — Dawn Ehde, PhD, and Kevin Alschuler, PhD, at the University of Washington, and Anna Kratz, PhD, and David A. Williams, PhD, at the University of Michigan — with funding from the Department of Defense MS Research Program (Award No. W81XWH-17-1-0367). The team built My MS Toolkit on the strength of two programs they'd already developed and tested: Take Charge of My MS, a telephone-delivered self-management program for MS, and FibroGuide, a web-based program for fibromyalgia. A panel of stakeholders living with MS shaped every step of development along the way — down to the name "My MS Toolkit" itself.
Did it work? In a small study of 20 adults with MS, participants who explored the site on their own for 12 weeks reported real benefit: 80% said their symptoms, emotions, or quality of life had gotten better, and many showed clinically significant improvement in fatigue, pain, or mood (Kratz et al., 2021, Rehabilitation Psychology). My MS Toolkit launched for public use in 2019 and has been helping people manage their MS ever since.
The version you're using today builds on that foundation. It reflects newer scientific evidence in MS symptom management, along with ongoing input from the Community Advisory Board of the UW Medicine Rehabilitation and Wellness Research Center - people affected by MS who continue to help shape the site's content and direction. My MS Toolkit remains, as it always has been, a collaboration between the University of Washington and the University of Michigan.
This update was made possible by awards from the International Progressive MS Alliance (PA-2502-44445) and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (RFA-2411-44095).
Our Team
Original Creators
Anna Kratz, PhD
Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan
Dawn Ehde, PhD
Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington
Kevin Alschuler, PhD
Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington
David A. Williams, PhD
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan
Contributors to the 2026 Update
Mary Curran
MSW, LICSW, University of Washington
Dawn Ehde, PhD
Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington
Anna Kratz, PhD
Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan
Erin Mistretta, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Washington
Kristi Pickup
MSW, LCSW, University of Michigan
Citation
Kratz, A. L., Alschuler, K. N., Williams, D. A., & Ehde, D. M. (2021). Development and pilot testing of a web-based symptom management program for multiple sclerosis: My MS Toolkit. Rehabilitation Psychology, 66(2), 224–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/rep0000375