Psychotherapy for inflammatory bowel disease: A review and update

BACKGROUND: Psychotherapy may be a useful intervention for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. We systematically reviewed all randomized controlled trials that have been performed in psychotherapy for inflammatory bowel disease patients. METHODS: Systematic searches were undertaken on 1 and 8 March, 2012 of studies of psychotherapy for IBD. RESULTS: Eighteen studies (19 papers) were included in this review. Psychotherapy was found to have minimal effect on measures of anxiety, depression, QOL and disease progression although shows promise in reducing pain, fatigue, relapse rate and hospitalisation, and improving medication adherence. It may also be cost effective. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of psychotherapy on IBD is mixed: future studies should determine whether patient screening or measuring different dependent variables improves outcomes and whether particular psychotherapies are superior over others.