Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder, causing pain, discomfort and embarrassment to millions. While medically based treatments have demonstrated only limited effectiveness, recent research strongly supports the role of psychosocial factors in both symptom expression and symptom control. This book presents a brief cognitive-behavioural treatment approach that is suitable for use with individuals or groups. Delineating a clear medical rationale, the authors help clinicians both to reduce the stigma associated with IBS and to overcome client resistance to psychological treatment.

“"While many mental health professional may consider IBS largely beyond the scope of psychotherapy, this book clearly makes the case otherwise and also presents a treatment approach that works....I strongly recommend this book for clinicians and researchers. This short, highly readable text is packed full of straightforward information that will immediately useful for treating a wide range of patients."--Psychosomatics "...this manual provides a thorough, yet accessible, introduction to the current understanding of IBS and cognitive behavioural approaches to its treatment....Beyond its use as a manual to guide health care professionals in the management and treatment of patients with IBS, this book allows the reader to gain considerable insight into the nature of chronic IBS and the psychological characteristics of patients. The clinical experience of the authors provides fascinating reading since it touches on issues that have not yet been the focus of much empirical work. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Irritable Bowel Syndrome or the use of cognitive behaviour therapy to treat functional disorders."--Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy "We strongly recommend this book to medical doctors interested in more than pharmacological treatment for their IBS patients as well as for psychologists and psychiatrists in training or certified." --Romanian Journal of Gastroenterology "This treatment manual represents a significant step forward in improving the biopsychosocial understanding and level of care available to patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)....The authors of this remarkable book possess diverse clinical expertise in dealing with gastrointestinal symptoms, affective disorders, and cognitive therapy....The emphasis on women's health makes this a unique treatment manual....an excellent book...highly recommended to all health professionals who work with patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and chronic illness conditions....the approach is applicable to a variety of chronic illness conditions." --Canadian Psychology”

This groundbreaking volume integrates the latest scientific and clinical information about a disorder that has been too long ignored in the literature. Varied and interesting chapters cover little-known research as well as novel CBT applications. I particularly appreciated the authors' gender-related analysis, as well as the specific applied exercises, forms, and suggestions for interrupting the cycle of pain and psychological distress. Researchers, students, teachers, and clinicians from both medical and applied social science disciplines will find a wealth of useful information in this excellent volume. I welcome and applaud this outstanding contribution. --Judith Worell, PhD, University of Kentucky

This book is unique for two reasons. First, it explains for the first time how gender socialization and abuse can contribute to the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which affects women far more than men, and shows how to incorporate gender issues into treatment. Second, the authors are able to draw upon their experience conducting two large-scale controlled trials of cognitive-behavioral therapy for IBS to provide concrete, practical guidelines for therapists. This book will be invaluable to clinicians and should become a required text for training clinical psychologists and psychiatrists in the management of IBS and other functional somatic complaints. --William E. Whitehead, PhD, Co-Director, University of North Carolina Center for Gastrointestinal Functional and Motility Disorders

This book effectively presents an empirically supported treatment--in both individual and group formats--for a surprisingly common stress-related somatic problem. Irritable Bowel Syndrome has heretofore received too little attention, owing to the shame, gender bias, and minimization processes that the authors describe and combat so well. This text will be highly useful for advanced graduate students, as well as seasoned researchers and clinicians in the often overlapping fields of cognitive-behavioral therapy and behavioral medicine. --Cory F. Newman, PhD, ABPP, Clinical Director, Center for Cognitive Therapy, University of Pennsylvania

As the field of medicine moves toward a more integrated, biopsychosocial understanding of illness and disease and toward a relationship-centered plan of care, persons with IBS and other functional somatic syndromes are likely to benefit. This book paves the way toward that understanding and also provides the means to accomplish that goal. --From the Foreword by Douglas A. Drossman, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Brenda B. Toner, PhD, CPsych, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health-Clarke Division, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Zindel Segal, PhD, CPsych, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health-Clarke Division, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Shelagh D. Emmott, PhD, CPsych, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health-Clarke Division, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

David Myran, MD, FRCP(C), Centre for Addiction and Mental Health-Clarke Division, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder, causing pain, discomfort and embarrassment to millions. While medically based treatments have demonstrated only limited effectiveness, recent research strongly supports the role of psychosocial factors in both symptom expression and symptom control. This book presents a brief cognitive-behavioural treatment approach that is suitable for use with individuals or groups. Delineating a clear medical rationale, the authors help clinicians both to reduce the stigma associated with IBS and to overcome client resistance to psychological treatment.

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