CBT for Patients with Chronic Gastrointestinal Disorders: You have them in your practice!
In-Congress Workshop 2 - CBT for Patients with Chronic Gastrointestinal Disorders: You Have Them in Your Practice!
Thursday, June 25, 2026
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM PDT
Location: Pacific I, 4th Floor
Earn 3 Credit
Keywords: Behavioral Medicine, Health Psychology, Cognitive Therapy Recommended Readings: Feingold, J., Murray, H. B., & Keefer, L. (2019). Recent advances in cognitive behavioral therapy for digestive disorders and the role of applied positive psychology across the spectrum of GI care. Journal of clinical gastroenterology, 53(7), 477-485., Gholamrezaei, A., Van Diest, I., Aziz, Q., Pauwels, A., Tack, J., Vlaeyen, J. W., & Van Oudenhove, L. (2022). Effect of slow, deep breathing on visceral pain perception and its underlying psychophysiological mechanisms. Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 34(4), e14242., Hunt, M., Tse, C. S., Suh, L., Yang, E., Bui, C., Davis, A., ... & Tian, V. (2025). Psychotherapy process variables in implementation of CBT for inflammatory bowel disease: Therapist competence, fidelity, and patient themes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 186, 104702., ,
Gastrointestinal disorders of all kinds are exacerbated by stress and are also stressful. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a highly prevalent (~10% of the general population but up to 30% of psychiatric patients) disorder of gut-brain interaction that is highly co-morbid with anxiety disorders and depression and shares conceptual overlap with panic disorder, agoraphobia, social anxiety and ARFID. It also leads to considerable disability and distress. Managing these patients effectively requires good conceptual understanding of the biopsychosocial and cognitive underpinnings of IBS as well as the avoidance behaviors that maintain and exacerbate both symptoms and disability. General CBT skills are essential but incorporating GI specific phenomena (like bowel control anxiety and fear of food) are also important. There is significant empirical evidence supporting the use of CBT in treating IBS, including multiple RCTs. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), (Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis), has clear biological pathophysiology, but shares some of the same symptoms and can lead to heightened risk for secondary IBS in a subset of patients. In addition, many IBD patients experience shame, avoidance and social anxiety about their condition. This workshop will cover what is known about the etiology and symptoms of IBS, how IBS patients present in clinical practice; IBS in the context of co-morbid panic and agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, ARFID and depression; formulating appropriate treatment goals and basic cognitive and behavioral strategies for treating IBS, including IBS that is comorbid or secondary to a more serious IBD. Case material reflecting patients along a spectrum of severity will provide for lively discussion and acquisition of new skills and techniques. Audience participation, clinical questions and role-playing will be welcomed, leading to interactive, experiential, in-depth training. We desperately need more skilled clinicians to treat this large and underserved population. WCCBT members bring solid CBT skills and need only acquire an understanding of GI specifics.
Learning Objectives:
explain the etiology, prevalence and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
develop a case conceptualization that integrates comorbid GI disorders with existing depressive, anxiety, OC and trauma disorders.
modify the standard CBT approach to anxiety disorders to treat GI patients effectively, including effective use of deep diaphragmatic breathing.
Describe the symptoms, medical complications and standard medical approaches to inflammatory bowel disease.
appreciate how many patients have chronic GI issues that underlie or exacerbate common psychiatric problems.
incorporate GI specific knowledge and assessment into routine clinical practice
