# Cognitive Behavioural Therapy



## gummivenus

I'd like to preface this thread by saying I am _not_ talking about hypnotherapy, I'm talking specifically about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy done with a psychologist.I ended up seeing a psychologist for anxiety and IBS before I realised the 2 were linked. I had gone to several GPs about my gut, all of whom said "oh it's probably just IBS" (grrr!) so I'd given up on ever finding help with that. I was so annoyed with all of those doctors, I went to a different GP for help with the mental health issues and only mentioned the IBS as an aside.I got referred to a psychologist who specialises in anxiety and I've spent about 10 sessions with him, trying to work on my issues. Unfortunately, at my last session when I told him I really wasn't feeling any better, he said there probably wasn't musch more he could do for me and I should go back to my GP to talk about drugs, etc.Maybe it's because he treated my IBS as a symptom of my anxiety (he and my GP all seemed convinced it was psychosomatic) or maybe I'm just not responding to treatment, I don't know. What I do know, is I've had an eon of time of work and spent a small fortune on his services!Has anybody ever had success in treating their IBS with CBT?Is this just an outdated treatment prescribed on the erroneous understanding that IBS is "all in our heads"?


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## BQ

No! There _have_ been people who have had MUCH success with CBT. One of our other Moderators is a perfect example. Here is some info:http://ibs.about.com/od/treatmentofibs/p/cbtrx.htm


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## cookies4marilyn

Many people have successfully used CBT for IBS and anxiety issues. Sometimes it is hard to know if a person has had IBS then became anxious because of the symptoms, or having anxiety first and getting IBS as a result of it - or just having them independently - though they are pretty interlinked. Find another therapist who knows what they are doing and has experience with IBS symptoms. There are many studies showing this can be helpful - it can be frustrating spending so much money on things that are not helping. I wish you well!


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## Kathleen M.

There is good clinical evidence for CBT for IBS when the CBT is designed to treat the IBS rather than treating other problems.I'm not sure about anxiety, but CBT for IBS tends to work better for people who are not clinically depressed rather than only helping depression. I'm not sure about how it works for people with anxiety vs not, or if they had enough data to report that in the clinical trial I was in.Anyway, I had a very good experience and got much better, but it was IBS specific CBT and that may make a difference. In the studies about 70% of people do well, so even though it can be very effective for some, like any treatment there are those that do not get better.The advantage to CBT if it works for you is the results tend to last where with drug treatment the symptoms come back if you stop the drug. I'm sorry it didn't work for you, but why it is used is based on the physical connection between the gut nerves and the central nervous system, not an "it is all in their heads" view of IBS.I don't know what in particular makes CBT more gut directed than anxiety or depression directed so I'm not sure if there is a way to tell.


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## journ3

I am currently in an online CBT study, specifically for IBS, being conducted by a major U.S. university psychology department (not one generally known to specialize in IBS either), so it is a mainstream and highly effective treatment for many. As the study is not over yet, I cannot say if I am one of them. I do not have anxiety or depression. I do have some degree of IBS-related stress but as I do not have a textbook typical symptom pattern or experiences, I don't have stereotypical IBSer stresses either. My pre-study questionnaires classified me as mild IBS, mild stress, whereas if the standard questionnaires actually asked me about things that applied to my specific situation, I'd probably end up further into the moderate category. We will see. I am doing it for myself but also for science.I live in a major metropolitan area of the U.S. A few years ago, when my IBS was much worse, my experience trying to find a CBT therapist whom I felt sufficiently understood CBT and IBS and how my particular situation was not the the stereotypical one of many IBSers seeking CBT, was disappointing. By email, I contacted three major professionals in the U.S. IBS community known for their CBT experience and asked them for referrals, and they tried, but they couldn't come up with many names. I also sought other sources and ended up calling more than a dozen therapists to inquire. Most said they had no experience with IBS, some said they did, but then made statements that indicated they didn't really understand IBS (which I later confirmed with the experts), one was very disparaging of hypnotherapy, which had been very helpful to me and was generally rude, one was talking to me about anticipatory IBS-D issues when I had clearly said I was pain predominant and had few problems with sudden D, etc. With the logistics of scheduling, inconvenient location, having to pay for treatment out of pocket (which I would have done if I found an appropriate person), and not being at all sure if any of these people could help me, I chose not to pursue in-person CBT at the time. But I would venture to say that if this was my experience in a major metropolitan area as a proactive person who has a lot of experience navigating these sorts of systems, it's probably not much better elsewhere. Other than Kathleen's, associated with a major functional GI center, the vast majority of therapists are unlikely to have the range or depth of experience and understanding of IBS that some of us need. If one gets lucky and finds one, that is very fortunate.I don't know what resources are available in Australia other than IBIS, but Dr. Barbara Bradley Bolen, in private practice on Long Island in New York State and Dr. Jeffrey Lackner, associated with the State University of New York in Buffalo (hundreds of miles and many hours drive apart-- New York is a huge state.) have both written self-help books on CBT for IBS. Perhaps you can get them online or there might be similar books written in Australia. Some people do find the books helpfulGood luck.


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