The Development of GI Psychology with Megan Riehl, PsyD

In this podcast episode, Megan Riehl, PsyD, discusses symptoms and solutions in GI psychology, building educational tools for patients and physicians on GI psychology and more.

•    Intro :02
•    Welcome to this episode of Gut Talk :23
•    The interview/about Riehl :33
•    Riehl on early influences on her career. :48
•    Growing up, how did your family system influence you? 2:12
•    How did you get into psychology, and who were the people that influenced you to go into this field? 3:45
•    How did you become interested in GI psychology?  5:27
•    Chey and Riehl on risk-taking behavior and building the GI psychology program at Michigan. 7:29
•    Were there other fields you were considering as a subspecialty in psychology? 10:23 
•    Is there something physiologic about gastroenterology that makes the path to psychology more appropriate than other specialties in the health care system? 13:33
•    Can you explain the difference between a GI psychologist and a general psychologist, and what types of patients will benefit most from GI psychology? 16:12  
•    Do you get inappropriate referrals from clinicians, such as patients with compliance and adherence issues or lack of belief in the validity of their diagnosis? 19:33
•    Do you think the term ‘GI psychologist’ is limiting, and have you thought of different words or terminology we can use to refer to this type of work? 22:20
•    Berry, Chey and Riehl on potential benefits, risks and the impact of digital therapeutics on behavioral health. 24:37
•    Berry and Riehl on the issues facing patients’ ability to access GI psychology, and how digital therapeutics can potentially address these issues. 28:04
•    What are the main types of interventions in GI psychology, and what do they do? 31:48
•    Riehl on her upcoming book, Mind Your Gut: The Whole-body, Science-based Guide to Living with IBS, co-written with Kate Scarlata, RDN. 36:09
•    Thank you, Megan 38:40
•    Thanks for listening 38:55

Megan Riehl, PsyD, is a GI psychologist with expertise in psycho-gastroenterology and the management of GI conditions. She is the clinical director of the GI behavioral health program at the University of Michigan, where she has a full-time clinical practice, leads GI behavioral health trainings and provides peer consultation.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [e-mail]. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @HealioGastro @sameerkberry @umfoodoc. For more from Megan, follow @DrRiehl on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Disclosures: Berry and Chey report no relevant financial disclosures. Riehl reports she is a co-parent owner of GI OnDemand with Gastro Girl, Inc.