Targeting the Brain in Gut-Brain Disorders with Dr. Laurie Keefer, PhD | MGC Ep. 76

In this episode of the MGC podcast, I speak with Dr. Laurie Keefer, a Health Psychologist and Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Dr Keefer’s scientific contributions include the development and implementation of self-management and behavioral intervention tools, known as brain-gut behavior therapies for conditions such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Dr. Keefer is Founder and Chair of the Rome Foundation’s international GastroPsych organization and serves on the Board of Directors of the Rome Foundation. She has more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and is a sought-after speaker, mentor and collaborator. Among several other topics, we talk about: 1) The importance of brain gut behavior therapies in inflammatory and functional GI disorders. 2) The long term resistance of the medical community to accept such non pharmacological therapies. 3) How she decides which behavioral approach to chose for individual patients.