Learn more about the brain-gut connection and how working with a GI psychologist differs from participating in a peer support group. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to learn whether GI Psychology may be the right next step for you.
GI Psychology is a virtual group practice of licensed mental health clinicians with deep expertise in gastrointestinal disorders, chronic illness, and the psychological experience of living with an ostomy or continent diversion.
Unlike general therapists, our clinicians understand the medical terminology, the mechanics of ostomy care, and the unique emotional landscape of life after surgery — from the critical adjustment period through long-term adaptation.
Gut-brain expertise
Our clinicians specialize in the gut-brain axis, the two-way relationship between digestive health and psychological well-being.
100% virtual care
All services are delivered via telehealth with flexible scheduling designed around your life, so you can access specialized support from wherever you are .
Evidence-based methods
Our approach draws from cognitive behavioral therapy, clinical hypnosis, and gut-directed behavioral interventions.
Who we serve
We serve children as young as six years old, adolescents, and adults in all 50 states.
Your gut and brain talk to each other all day. Much of this talk happens through the vagus nerve and the nerves that line your digestive tract. Ostomy or continent diversion surgery does not turn off this connection. It changes the signals your body sends. Your brain then needs time to adjust to this new pattern.
New Sensory Signals
After surgery, part of your bowel may no longer send fullness and urge signals like it used to. At the same time, the bowel above your stoma, or your pouch, sends its own new signals to your brain.
These changes can make you feel disconnected from your body at first. Some people even feel phantom rectal pressure, or a “ghost” urge to have a bowel movement. This feels a lot like a phantom limb sensation after an amputation. It happens because your brain’s inner map of your body needs time to catch up.
A Brain on High Alert
In the months after surgery, your brain can interpret unfamiliar sensations as threatening, especially following complications, pain, leakage, or frightening medical experiences. This can make normal pouch activity, like gas moving through or your pouch filling, feel scary instead of routine. You may start checking your pouch often or feeling on edge about every sound.
Retraining the Brain-Gut Connection
Here is the good news: your brain can change and adapt at any age.
With practice, it can learn to read your body’s new signals correctly again, instead of treating them as danger. Gut-directed hypnotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy can help. Step by step, these tools help you retrain and rebuild your trust in your body’s signals.
Peer support groups and psychotherapy serve different — and complementary — purposes. Many people find value in both.
UOAA Support Group
Peer-to-peer connection
Shared lived experience
Community and belonging
Practical tips and resources
Led by trained volunteer leaders
GI Psychology Therapy
Psychological and behavioral skill building
Disease management strategies
Evidence-based interventions
Individually tailored to your needs
Led by licensed clinical psychologists
United Ostomy Associations of America
P.O. Box 2293
Biddeford, ME 04005-2293
Call us toll-free at: 1-800-826-0826.
Our Information Line hours are Monday-Friday, 9am to 3pm EST. If you have an emergency, please dial 911 or contact your local medical professional.
Please understand that UOAA is a private, nonprofit, advocacy and informational organization. We are not a medical facility and we do not have medical or legal professionals on staff. Therefore, UOAA does not provide Medical, Mental Health, Insurance or Legal Advice. Visit UOAA Virtual Ostomy Clinic provided by The Wound Company for non-emergency, virtual ostomy support.
