IBS Treatment: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs Medical Treatment

In this quasi-experimental research, applying general sampling, 50 IBS patients were chosen from among those who referred to a Gastroenterology Clinic. After physical and mental evaluations through ROME-II scale and SCL-90-R questionnaire, the subjects were randomly superseded into two groups: medical treatment as the control group and the combination of medical and psychological treatment as the case group. The subjects of the case group were placed under the cognitive behavioral psychotherapy for 8 sessions. Thereafter, both groups were reassessed using ROME-II scale and SCL-90-R questionnaires, respectively. The acquired data were finally analyzed through t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test for independent groups. The findings of the present study show that a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medical treatment is more effective than the medical treatment alone in alleviating IBS symptoms; hence, the mental health level of the case group has significantly been better than that of the control group. Considering the role of cognitive behavioral therapy along with medical treatment in IBS patients, it is therefore recommend that such patients be managed by a combined team of gastroenterologists and psychologists.