Behavioral Medicine for Digestive Health

Housed within the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the Behavioral Medicine program provides a broad range of services to the Digestive Health Center’s gastroenterology, hepatology, and lifestyle medicine patients.

Through our research, clinical practice, training programs, and digital health initiatives, we aim to positively change how symptoms, health beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors impact the treatment and experience of those with chronic conditions.  Our treatments directly target GI symptoms, often by addressing the dysregulation in the brain-gut pathway. We also help people learn strategies they can use to improve how they cope with symptoms and treatments so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy.

We place a strong emphasis, in both research and clinical practice, on evidenced-based models of care, expanding understanding of digestive diseases, and serving as a voice for the patients and families in our care.

The Digestive Health Center

The Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Center brings together some of the best academic and clinical minds in pursuit of medical excellence in the area of gastrointestinal health. Our mission is to prevent, diagnose and treat disorders of the digestive tract and associated organs.

At the heart of the Center's success is the complementary approach through multidisciplinary teams of physicians who work to bring top-quality care to patients from around the world. Each multidisciplinary center includes gastroenterologists, interventional endoscopists, surgeons, psychologists and dietitians. Our internationally renowned team of specialists¹ works with patients to control the symptoms that negatively affect their health and lives while focusing on the treatment of their condition or disease. Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases affect an estimated 60 to 70 million Americans annually.

Our comprehensive program is rated among the top gastroenterology and GI surgery specialty centers in the country 2022–2023 U.S. News & World Report.