Understanding and treating symptom burden in inflammatory bowel diseases: a psychological perspective

Persons with IBD (Crohn’s disease, colitis ulcerosa) experience disabling symptoms (fatigue, pain) also when the disease is in remission. Such symptoms are still poorly understood and therefore often left untreated. This project will study to what extent: - Disease-related avoidance behavior prospectively predicts symptom burden - Psychological interventions directed at reducing disease-related avoidance behavior decrease symptom burden - Stress reduction interventions (e.g., heart rate variability biofeedback) improve symptom burden