Development of an Online ACT Intervention for Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction

DGBI participants:

Inclusion criteria

• Age between 18 and 75 years;
• Exhibiting clinical symptom severity for at least one DGBI diagnosis (assessed with the Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Adults (Palsson et al., 2016));
• Clinically meaningful levels of depressive symptoms or anxiety: score ≥ 13 on the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS; depressive symptoms), or score ≥ 10 on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale-7 (GAD-7; anxiety symptoms; Spitzer et al., 2006);
• Stable medication for psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depression, and sleep problems for at least two months prior to intervention;
• Ability to read and write Swedish;
• Access to a device (like a computer, tablet, or smartphone) with access to the internet and that can be used to attend video conferences and preview the intervention platform (i.e., have a microphone and speakers or headphones).

Exclusion criteria

• Currently undergoing any form of psychological intervention;
• Increased risk of suicide (≥4 points on MADRS item 9);
• Severe depression (≥34 points on MADRS).

Healthcare professionals:

Inclusion criteria

a) Being a healthcare professional currently working with DGBI patients and/or with ACT-based/digital interventions.