A research collaboration between our University and King’s College London has shown that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) tailored specifically for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and delivered over the telephone or through an interactive website is more effective in relieving the symptoms of IBS than current standard care.
These results could make a real difference to patients with IBS who currently have very limited access to CBT in a resource-constrained NHS.
The research was led by Dr Hazel Everitt, Associate Professor in General Practice at our University.
Dr Everitt commented:
“The fact that both telephone and web-based CBT sessions were shown to be effective treatments is a really important and exciting discovery. Patients are able to undertake these treatments at a time convenient to them, without having to travel to clinics.’’
The findings, published today in the journal GUT, show that those who received either form of CBT were more likely to report significant improvement in severity of symptoms and impact on their work and life after 12 months of treatment compared to those who only received current standard IBS treatments.
You can hear Dr Everitt talking about the research trial on BBC Sounds (discussion starts at 39 minutes in).
