If your therapist doesn't know how to help you with your IBS, you can now tell them to read a book! Your therapist is not alone in being unsure how to treat IBS. Many therapists are reluctant to treat IBS because they view it as a "medical problem" and therefore beyond their area of expertise. IBS patients then find themselves not knowing where to turn when they are told this because their doctors say "It's stress, see a therapist". The following books offer specific guidelines for treating IBS and therefore do a great service in bridging the gap between medicine and psychotherapy.
1. "Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome"
This book, written by Brenda B. Toner, Ph.D. and associates, is a great book for your therapist to start with. In an easy-to-follow fashion, the book provides an overview of relevant IBS research and offers a rationale for the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a treatment for IBS. This book also includes session by session guidelines. Although these instructions are designed to be used in a group therapy format, they could easily be applied toward individual work.
2. "Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Psychosocial Assessment and Treatment"
This book, written by Edward B. Blanchard, Ph.D., is another excellent resource for your therapist. Although the book is heavy on research findings, it is also filled with practical, helpful tips for applying these research findings into the therapy process. The book offers specific session by session treatment guidelines, but in contrast with Dr. Toner's book, scripts are provided for three separate treatment modalities: individual CBT, individual hypnotherapy, and a psychoeducational support group.
