Behavioral Medicine

Gastroenterology behavioral medicine is a sub-specialty of providers who are trained not only in mental health but also in the unique issues of people diagnosed with digestive illnesses. Services are designed for people may not have a mental health problem, rather those who want to better manage their physical condition. Treatment aims to reduce the intensity and frequency of illness symptoms, improve your quality of life, provide support for medical decision making or health education, improve coping skills, and reduce stress and worry.

Behavioral medicine treatments are especially helpful for people who have GI symptoms that keep them from living their lives as they would like, such as not being able to take part in activities they once could or experiencing strains in their personal relationships. People who have found that life stress makes their digestive symptoms worse, who are very worried about their illness, who feel depressed or anxious because of their condition, or do not have a good support network also find behavioral treatments to be very useful. Finally, people who need help with making medical decisions or find that they are seeing their physician much more frequently than they would like are likely to benefit.