Group Therapy Helps People With IBS Manage Symptoms

Group Therapy Helps People With IBS Manage Symptoms

Results of a study supported in part by NCCAM suggest that a brief group therapy intervention—including education, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and basic relaxation techniques—may ease symptoms and improve quality of life in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles; Columbia University; and Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was published in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Sixty-nine adults with diagnosed IBS were randomly assigned to an active-intervention group or a wait-list control group. All participants received chapters from a book on IBS, were contacted at specific times by a study nurse, and continued with usual care. The active intervention was an “IBS class,” co-led by a gastroenterologist and a therapist, that met 2 hours per week for 5 weeks with five to eight participants each. Class topics included the biology of IBS and the stress response; links between the mind, body, emotions, stress, and IBS symptoms; evaluating and responding to symptoms; coping styles; and lifestyle management. They learned two simple relaxation techniques that they practiced outside class, and they also were instructed to monitor and document their symptoms and relate them to mood, possible stressors, and changes in diet.

Woman holding stomach in pain.At the end of the course, the investigators found that class participants showed significant improvements in their IBS symptom severity, visceral sensitivity, quality of life, and depression compared with the wait-list control group. Their coping skills had also improved. Most gains remained at the 3-month followup. Improvements were especially marked in those who had entered the study with a low or moderate quality of life.

The researchers concluded that this brief psychoeducation intervention is feasible, clinically useful, and cost-effective. It could potentially aid not only self-management and coping, but standard drug therapy. Still needed, they noted, are further studies to confirm the results, and ways to make these kinds of promising psychosocial approaches more acceptable and available to people with IBS.


 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

Article Source: National Institute Of Health

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English Afrikaans Arabic Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Danish Dutch Filipino Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Malay Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese

follow InnerSelf on

facebook icontwitter iconyoutube iconinstagram iconpintrest iconrss icon

 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

Friday, 14 May 2021 08:30

Fertility has declined in most industrialised countries. While the causes are largely unknown, a number of factors may contribute to declining fertility rates, including the age...

Tuesday, 25 July 2023 16:09

Volunteering in late life may be more than just a noble act of giving back to the community; it could be a critical factor in safeguarding the brain against cognitive decline and dementia.

Monday, 24 July 2023 19:42

Today, mountains of calorie-rich (and often nutritionally poor) food and lakes of sugary beverages are readily available in much of the world. It’s no longer necessary to leave home — or even stand...

Tuesday, 04 May 2021 08:32

Cognitive motor training helps in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia, according to new research.

Thursday, 15 April 2021 13:22

Skin brushing is a highly effective technique for cleansing the lymphatic system. Topics covered in this article: Benefits of Skin Brushing; What type of skin brush is the best to use; How to Brush...

Thursday, 27 May 2021 05:24

Life, by its very nature is … alive! Because it is alive, it is not just responding in a set, mechanical way, but rather it is responsive to what is needed and helpful and useful. Cells might...

New Attitudes - New Possibilities

InnerSelf.comClimateImpactNews.com | InnerPower.net
MightyNatural.com | WholisticPolitics.com | InnerSelf Market
Copyright ©1985 - 2021 InnerSelf Publications. All Rights Reserved.