Abstract

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a psychosomatic disease whose prevalence has increased considerably in recent years. Tends to present comorbidity with other psychopathology such as anxiety, phobias, hypochondria and depression, which gives more complex medical and psychotherapeutic treatment. There is little empirical evidence on psychotherapeutic treatments to help patients cope with these symptoms. The research aimed to describe the narratives of patients suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome; and explore the role that these narratives in the establishment and maintenance of the disease. Two women were selected patients with medical diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and an in depth interview was conducted. The dialogue was transcribed text and data were analyzed from the Biographical Approach. The results show that patients have high levels of alexithymia, operative thinking and difficulties in emotional expression. A psychotherapeutic approach based on the modification of the narrative in order to change the affective quality of the story and the relationship of the patient with his own history is proposed.