We thank Ruddy et al for their response to our editorial and congratulate them on their passionate defence of the mental components of inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. We agree wholeheartedly that patients with IBD often suffer from emotional difficulties and adjustment issues that need to be addressed adequately. Indeed, stemming from our conviction about the mental component in IBD, our department has a unique ‘psycho-gastro’ service with an in-house psychologist and a psychiatrist integrated within the Department, who are primarily dedicated to the treatment of our IBD patients. Use of the model of mind–body interrelationships by Ezra et al. and the gut–brain axis theory were not meant to diminish from the severity of the mental pain of IBD patients, but to emphasize the continuum of mutual mind–body influences in the field of gastrointestinal disorders. This illustrates the need for multi-disciplinary teams and tailored holistic treatment approaches that will be able to treat patients in concert medically, psychologically and socially.
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