Specialization
Clinical psychologist/psychotherapist/supervisor of the Dutch Compagny of Cognitive Behavioral Ther
Focus of research
KL!C study; Enhancing the quality of life of patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a
multi-center study investigating cognitive behavioral therapy.
Individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD; Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis)
have been found to report poorer quality of life and more psychological distress than
comparison-controls from the general population. One of the most promising interventions for
enhancing quality of life and decreasing distress in people is cognitive behavioral therapy.
Such therapy is aimed at amending unhelpful cognitions and attitudes and offers a welldeveloped
intervention protocol that has been found to be effective in people with other
chronic illnesses. The primary objective is to investigate the short-term effectiveness of
individual cognitive behavioral therapy in a Dutch sample of IBD patients on quality of life,
cognitions and attitudes. IBD patients who have a poor level of mental quality of life are
randomly assigned to a treatment condition (n = 40) and a waiting-list control condition (n =
40). Patients complete standardized self-report measures on quality of life, illness-related
cognitions and attitudes prior to and one month following intervention or control period.
In case the intervention is feasible and effective, a new cognitive behavioral therapy protocol
can be offered to patients with IBD and, possibly, other gastroenterological diseases. By
enhancing IBD patients' quality of life, we may also improve their physical health, and
ultimately lower unnecessary health care consumption.