Snapshot of an integrated psychosocial gastroenterology service

Table 3 Myths and misconceptions of psychological treatments for gastrointestinal conditions

Myth	Fact
Only patients with significant psychological distress will benefit from working with a health psychologist	The majority of patients seen in our clinic do not suffer from a psychological disorder and yet benefit significantly from treatment
Only patients with functional GI conditions are appropriate for referral to psychologist	Patients with a wide-range of GI conditions can benefit (crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, chronic pancreatitis, GERD); 20% of patients in this study had IBD
Psychological treatments are expensive	Psychological treatments are often covered by insurance and are associated with reduced long-term health-care costs.
Psychological treatment requires significant time commitment	Many patients can benefit in as few as 4 sessions

GI: Gastrointestinal; IBD: Inflammatory bowel diseases; GERD: Gastroesophageal reflux disease.