Collaborating With Pediatric Gastroenterologists to Treat Co-Occurring Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Anxiety in Pediatric Medical Settings

•We present a cognitive behavioral program for youth with comorbid inflammatory bowel disease and anxiety in medical settings.•Two cases describe inflammatory bowel disease-related anxiety, plus and benefits and challenges of intervention.•Rationale for provision of mental health services in tandem with medical interventions in medical settings is provided.•The value of medical practitioners in the identification and treatment of youth with inflammatory bowel disease and anxiety is described.

Children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have distinct physical and emotional challenges that may place them at risk for developing anxiety and that may impede their receipt of mental health treatment. Only a handful of studies have applied empirically validated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to IBD-related issues and no studies have examined the benefit of CBT for anxiety disorders in pediatric IBD. The aim of this paper is to describe a newly adapted cognitive behavioral treatment protocol, Treatment of Anxiety and Physical Symptoms related to IBD (TAPS + IBD), that has been tailored to concurrently address anxiety, including IBD-specific anxiety, and disease management in children and adolescents with IBD in pediatric medical offices. Two case studies are presented to demonstrate treatment implementation and preliminary assessment data. General considerations for health providers working with youth with comorbid anxiety and IBD from a multidisciplinary perspective and future research directions are provided.