Name
Beyond the Gut: Integrating Behavioral Health into IBD Care
Description

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)—encompassing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—is a chronic, relapsing condition that extends far beyond gastrointestinal symptoms to affect mental health, intimate relationships, social functioning, and overall quality of life. Despite this, behavioral health remains largely absent from IBD care teams, and the research on integrated behavioral health interventions for this population is sparse compared to other chronic illness populations. This interactive workshop invites clinicians, primary care providers, and researchers to explore the biopsychosocial burden of IBD, examine the current research landscape and its gaps, and engage with practical frameworks for integrating behavioral health into GI care settings. Attendees will leave with greater clinical awareness, concrete strategies for supporting IBD patients, and a shared call to generate the research this population urgently needs.

Content Level
All Audience
Tags
Patient-centered care or Patient perspectives, Research and evaluation, Team-based care
Session Type
Concurrent
Objective 1
Describe the biopsychosocial impact of IBD, including effects on mental health, intimate relationships, family functioning, and quality of life, and explain the role of the gut-brain axis in connecting psychological and disease outcomes.
Objective 2
Identify current gaps in the behavioral health research literature specific to IBD populations and distinguish how existing evidence from IBS and chronic illness research can and cannot be applied to IBD care.
Objective 3
Apply Rolland's Family Systems-Illness (FSI) Model to a clinical scenario involving an IBD patient and their family system, identifying how illness type, timeline, and family functioning inform behavioral health intervention within an integrated care setting.
Content Reference 1

Rolland, J. S. (1994). Families, illness, and disability: An integrative treatment model. Basic Books.

Content Reference 2

Mikocka-Walus, A., Knowles, S. R., Keefer, L., & Graff, L. (2016). Controversies revisited: A systematic review of the comorbidity of depression and anxiety with inflammatory bowel diseases. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 22(3), 752–762.

Content Reference 3

Mayer, E. A., Tillisch, K., & Gupta, A. (2015). Gut/brain axis and the microbiota. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 125(3), 926–938.

Content Reference 4

Taft, T. H., Keefer, L., Leonhard, C., & Nealon-Woods, M. (2009). Impact of perceived stigma on inflammatory bowel disease patient outcomes. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 15(8), 1224–1232.