Why Flare-Ups Aren't Failure: The Truth About Chronic Illness Grief — Antonia Repollet, PsyD — About IBD Podcast Episode 211

Why Flare-Ups Aren’t Failure: The Truth About Chronic Illness Grief

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About IBD Podcast Episode 211 Featuring Antonia Repollet, PsyD

Flare-ups in chronic illness can reopen feelings of grief. Clinical psychologist Dr Antonia Repollet shares her journey with Crohn’s disease and how it informs the way she helps patients navigate the emotional challenges of long-term health conditions. Learn ways to maintain your identity despite symptoms, how to come back from comments like “you don’t look sick,” and how a GI psychologist can be an ally in managing life with a relapsing-remitting condition.

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What you’ll learn:

  • Why new anger or sadness during an active flare isn’t an emotional setback.
  • How the 7 Stages of Chronic Illness Grief can help process complex issues.
  • Ideas about responding to remarks like “You’re too young to be this sick.”
  • Steps to reconnect with your values and passions despite managing chronic illness.
  • Why performative wellness sparks burnout and how vulnerability creates true connection.
  • How GI-tailored mental health modalities address the biological gut-brain axis.

Key chapters and timestamps:

  • [00:00] – Introduction: Meet Dr Antonia Repollet, GI psychologist
  • [02:18] – Navigating Crohn’s, bullying, and school without accommodations
  • [05:28] – Bridging mind, body, and lived experience to land in GI psychology
  • [07:25] – When and why Dr Repollet discloses her health journey to patients
  • [11:19] – The 7 Stages of Chronic Illness Grief and why the cycles aren’t setbacks
  • [14:46] – Coping with invisible illness stigma and responding to “you don’t look sick”
  • [19:31] – Reclaiming identity and purpose outside of managing a chronic illness
  • [21:23] – Rejecting the dichotomy of toxic positivity and worst-case scenarios
  • [25:48] – How evidence-based tools such as CBT, gut-directed hypnotherapy, and support groups can help patients cope
  • [29:35] – Closing on how pets, such as cats like Pearl, Bubba Bear, Loki, and Freya, are important allies in managing hard days

Resources:

Find Antonia Repollet, PsyD at:

Find GI Psychology at:

Find Amber J Tresca at:

Find Mac Cooney (mix, sound design, and theme music) at:

These show notes may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, Mal and Tal Enterprises, LLC may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

[Music: IBD Dance Party]

[00:00] Amber Tresca: I’m Amber Tresca, and this is About IBD. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis as a teen and had J-pouch surgery 10 years later. Now, I help people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis understand their disease and feel seen. On About IBD, you’ll get real talk on symptoms, treatment, and life with IBD straight from patients, caregivers, and experts.

[00:27] Amber Tresca: You’ll learn, feel less alone, and even have a laugh along the way

[00:34] Amber Tresca: My guest is Dr. Antonia Ripalet, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified school psychologist known for her compassionate, innovative care for both pediatric and adult patients with gastrointestinal and chronic health conditions. She holds a doctorate from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where her research focused on the mind-body connection and the impact of chronic illness on functioning.

[00:58] Amber Tresca: Combining clinical care with advocacy, she builds collaborative treatment strategies that incorporate stress management, nutritional guidance, psychoeducation, and more As someone living with inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic conditions herself, Dr. Repollet also brings a unique personal perspective that informs her compassionate, integrative approach, bridging mental and physical wellbeing to help patients build resilience, improve quality of life, and thrive beyond their diagnoses.

[01:29] Amber Tresca: Dr. Repollet, welcome to About IBD.

[01:32] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Thank you so much. I’m so happy to be here.

[01:35] Amber Tresca: I am so excited to talk to you. We cooked up an episode topic together that is something that I haven’t discussed before, and that is how people can experience grief, uh, regarding their disease and then sort of move past these hurdles and go on to have a better quality of life.

[01:56] Amber Tresca: But I want to first start, as I usually do, with people who live with an IBD, and ask about your disease journey. So Dr. Repollet, you bring your clinical expertise and your personal lived experience with IBD to your work. So I wonder if you would share a bit about your own IBD journey so far.

[02:17] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yes, happy to share.

[02:18] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So, um, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease specifically at age nine. Um, I won’t say how old I am now, but it’s been a while, living with the disease most of my life, as you can imagine. Um, and really, I think, you know, it’s never a great time to be diagnosed with IBD, but I think the timing of my diagnosis really made everything harder because I just had moved to a new school, totally new town.

[02:42] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: I was just totally starting over socially, and then everything started changing medically within those first few months of starting that new school. So I was really underweight. I was anemic. I was on super high doses of steroids. I could barely get out of bed or out of a bathroom. And naturally, my appearance really started to shift visibly.

[03:02] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, and this was fourth grade. So when I returned to school, unfortunately, bullying started regarding my appearance. It was pretty significant. Um, and then on top of that, my parents didn’t really have a lot of, um, guidance on any type of plans or accommodations that existed for individuals with disabilities in a public school setting, and no one really told them.

[03:23] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, no one really helped them navigate it on the school end. And that pattern just kind of continued to follow as we moved again to a totally new town a few years later, um, where I had long stretches of home instruction, next to no support. Um, and a lot of that, you know, that hardship never really left me.

[03:41] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um- And so that’s a little bit about my journey there as well. And really just learning from a very young age what it feels like to have your GI system become the center of your world in a way that you definitely didn’t choose and you really can’t fully explain to people around you. And to navigate that without the right scaffolding in place as well was very challenging.

[04:04] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So I went into school psychology first because I really wanted to be the person who helped families and educators support children with needs in the school setting. And then later on in my career, I decided to expand into clinical work because I really wanted to be able to go deeper into the gut-brain piece specifically, and to really what it feels like psychologically to live inside one of these diagnoses long term.

[04:27] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: And so those two tracks kind of grew out of that same experience

[04:31] Amber Tresca: You had a, a really rough start, you know, obviously being diagnosed so young and then dealing with a lot of stress and then things. Those of us… I was 16, so not that young, uh, but still, uh, going to school, kids are not kind and they don’t understand.

[04:48] Amber Tresca: And then our parents are usually also just, they have no idea how to cope with any of this, especially when there’s no playbook. There wasn’t then, not that there’s much more of one now. Um, but so I, I mean, I see the through line about how you went from there to where you are now, but I still wanna ask the question because sometimes something really significant comes about that’s important in your journey.

[05:16] Amber Tresca: So I’m wondering how these experiences of your early childhood led you to GI psychology, and was there a moment or a person or something in particular that, that pushed you in that direction?

[05:28] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: I would say that it, it’s been a little bit of everything. Um, despite the fact that I had, have always been very privileged enough to receive wonderful care from, you know, both pediatric and adult GIs.

[05:41] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: As you can obviously relate to it as well, like, mental health wasn’t really talked about, especially then or properly cared for until I’ve gotten much older. And obviously, that’s kind of also what brings us to what we were talking about today as well. Um, so I’d say it wasn’t really one particular moment, more like a cul- the culmination, I guess, of it all.

[06:00] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, that grief, the bullying, the home instruction, the months and months away from friends that’s, you know, because I was sick, missed years, moves. You know, I really was just mourning the, uh, you know, a version of my childhood and adolescence that I never got to have. I just didn’t have the language for it at that time.

[06:17] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: I have and had wonderful friends, none of which had any health issues. Mm-hmm. So it was really tough in that regard too. I didn’t have anyone to relate to. No one in my family had IBD. My parents had never even heard of it before I was diagnosed. So I think, you know, that’s really a culmination of all of that is really what led me to this place.

[06:36] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: And I think as well, my personal experiences are certainly in some ways very true for almost every patient that I work with as well because that grief is already happening. It just hasn’t really been named yet.

[06:47] Amber Tresca: I work with various clinicians, some of whom are, uh, openly living with an IBD, some of whom kind of keep it a little more on the, on the back burner.

[06:57] Amber Tresca: So I have so much respect for people who disclose. But from what I understand, it’s, it’s the type of thing that sometimes it makes sense to talk to your patients about it, and then other times it doesn’t make sense to talk about your experiences with IBD with your patients. So I’m wondering, i- uh, what are the ways that your experiences in living with chronic conditions changes or informs, uh, how you connect with your patients.

[07:25] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Sure. And it really is a delicate balance for sure, and it can depend on the patient, of course, whether we decide or one decides to disclose something personal or not. It’s certainly not something I would ever lead with clinically, um, because obviously it’s not my story to center. It’s, it’s theirs. But, you know, when I do feel as though it makes sense to share, um, especially when I sense that it would really help someone feel less alone in that moment, or if they’re really struggling to kind of put words to something, um, and knowing that their provider gets it from the inside can actually really give them permission to go there, which only makes treatment more effective for them, because I can help them even more easily.

[08:06] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: And other times it might just not add anything, or it could even, like, shift the focus onto me instead of them, so of course then it wouldn’t be appropriate. But regardless of whether I disclose or not, um, you know, it’s, it’s what I’ve lived with that really helps me underneath the surface anyway, right? I know what it’s like to have your health take over your life in a way that you can’t explain to people around you, especially people that don’t have chronic health conditions like IBD.

[08:31] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: And I think, you know, it really does hopefully shape how I listen to patients and what I pick up on, things that I don’t necessarily rush past that others could easily miss. Um, and so that comes regardless of whether or not I say a word about my own diagnosis. So I think that’s important, especially if there’s other practitioners out there with IBD or something similar and they’re like, “I’m not comfortable sharing this with patients ever.”

[08:55] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: You certainly don’t have to. I’m sure it’s still, it’s still helping guide the care for your patients.

[09:02] Amber Tresca: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I’m wondering, though, what that must be like to be working with a therapist And l- living with a chronic condition and then have that therapist tell you what that’s like.

[09:18] Amber Tresca: Like, I’m just trying to imagine what that would be like for myself if, if my therapist told me something like that. Yeah. And I think it would be very welcome. But, uh, what kind of responses come about, uh, in the times that w- that- Mm-hmm … you know, this is something that you end up disclosing or discussing?

[09:35] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Well, fortunately, I’ve never had the response be nothing but positive. Yeah. So that’s, that’s always nice.

[09:42] Amber Tresca: Yeah.

[09:43] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Typically, what I will say, you know, is something along the lines of, “I can understand. I also have a history of this. Um, and that’s all that I’m going to say about it. If, if that’s helpful to you or not, I don’t necessarily have to know.

[09:56] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, but I’m just kind of giving you a little bit of that insight there, and you’re welcome to ask me any questions. I can’t say that I can answer all of them, depending on how personal they might be, but I certainly encourage.” Um, and so oftentimes I think that can really set the tone for the patient to receive it better without me centering the conversation onto me.

[10:16] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, and, and more often than not- Mm-hmm … not only is it typically positively received, but also then I do get a lot of questions. Um, especially from other young women or parents- Yep … for my pediatric patients especially. And it can really guide not only how they feel in terms of validation and just being seen, but also even the care that they get at times, too, right?

[10:39] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Because as therapists, we’re with our patients more often than not, way more than a gastroenterologist can be. Um, and so it can really be helpful in other ways as well. But again, that’s usually never my goal. Um, but typically that is kind of the way that I, I tend to see conversations like that pan out.

[10:57] Amber Tresca: Mm-hmm. Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. And so you already brought up, uh, the idea of, of grief. Um, uh, it’s one of those things that- I think sometimes we are not necessarily, we’re feeling it, but people aren’t necessarily putting that word grief around it. So when they first hear grief connected to chronic illness, a few things, uh, click into place.

[11:19] Amber Tresca: And so people with IBD, you know, experience grief at all stages of the journey, I think. I think even in remission there can be some. And so we tend to think of grief, and I- when I say we, I mean people that are not, um, psychologists or, or in that profession. But we tend to think of it as something that there’s a loss, and then you experience grief, and then that resolves.

[11:40] Amber Tresca: But with- Right … with IBD or even with other chronic conditions as, as well, or rare conditions, those feelings of grief can just come around again with each new health challenge that we experience. So I’m wondering how you help your patients through this when there, there’s no sort of beginning, middle, end to this grief.

[12:02] Amber Tresca: It kind of renews itself, um, at different points.

[12:06] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yep, absolutely. Yeah, I think that’s the biggest piece is remembering that all types of grief are not linear. Um, and what’s wonderful is I actually use a framework. There’s this seven-stage model of chronic illness grief that was created by another psychologist, uh, years ago who also struggles with chronic health conditions, um, themselves.

[12:26] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: And, um, it kind of builds off of what we’d consider more of like a traditional, uh, stage of grief model for the loss of a loved one. Mm-hmm. So we have stages of, uh, denial, bargaining, anger, but also anxiety and depression, loss of self, reevaluation, and then acceptance. Even though this never is going to look linear, um, you know, it is really helpful I think first just to provide that psycho education, that there actually is a model out there that really does speak to a lot of what we experience regardless of when we were diagnosed or what the diagnosis was and all of the nuances and specific factors that are specific to our journey.

[13:06] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, so patients can be sitting in acceptance- Let’s say they’re in remission, not that we have to be. Mm-hmm. But let’s say they are, and they’re feeling good, they’re rebuilding their routines, um, and then a flare hits, and they’re right back where they may have started, somewhere around the anger, depression side of things.

[13:24] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, sometimes even almost overnight. So in these cases, what I help patients see is that cycling back is not regression. It’s not evidence that any work that they may have done didn’t hold or that they’re failing in some way. Um, it really is the nature of grief. It’s tracking an illness that keeps cycling, an illness that’s unpredictable.

[13:46] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: And so the grief’s not stuck. They’re not doing anything wrong. They don’t need to be worried that they should have done something differently. That’s just their illness kind of showing up in the unfortunate, accurate ways that it does and doing what it does. So that alone, I think, can also resonate for a lot of people in a positive way, so they are less likely to then keep that spotlight on themselves as the problem and focus more on, you know, things that they can control.

[14:13] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So hopefully we can work back to a place of acceptance, which by the way, does not mean liking or being okay with something either. That’s really acknowledgement that this is here and it’s not the only part of my life or my journey.

[MUSIC: About IBD Transition]

[14:34] Amber Tresca: Up next, Dr. Repollet talks about setting boundaries

[14:46] Amber Tresca: Antonia, people with IBD are really familiar with comments like, “But you don’t look sick,” or, “You were fine yesterday.” Or one that you may have heard a few times yourself, “You’re too young to be this sick,” that type of thing. So I’m wondering how this complicates the grieving process when you’re already mourning things, you’re losing milestones, and then there are people that just don’t, can’t seem to take in the fact that this disease has profoundly changed your life.

[15:16] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Those phrases do a lot of harm in a very, very, very few amount of words, unfortunately. Um, it really does, uh, put the patient or the individual in the position of having to prove that they’re sick or to minimize what they’re feeling to keep a relationship looking one way or the other or keep that person’s perception of them as positive in some way.

[15:40] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, and I think for young people especially, the pull toward belonging is so strong, right? That a lot of them will just choose to minimize and mask and push through, and at very real cost. Um, so especially for my, you know, I would say, like, my preteens and adolescents, um, what I work with a lot in that population is really helping them hold the truth of their own experience without needing someone else to see it first.

[16:07] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: And certainly with my work with parents too in, in this regard, sometimes parents will say certain things like this, um, because really what they’re trying to s- to, um, suggest is, like, “I still have hope that you’ll be okay.” So the intention is really pure and, and, and there. Um, they certainly don’t mean to dismiss, but that is what h- is happening.

[16:30] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So a lot of those conversations need to also happen on the parent’s side for these patients because they’re likely struggling with, you know, just being unable to tolerate that there is evidence to show that their child is not okay right now and might never be fully okay. Um, so there’s a lot of work that has to happen in, in that entire family system in these cases.

[16:52] Amber Tresca: Yeah, and that makes a lot of sense. It- I’ve always thought that those comments have more to do with the person saying them and their fears and insecurities than they do with the person that’s on the receiving end of those things.

[17:06] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yeah. Absolutely. I know my parents still do it at times, and I know exactly where it comes from.

[17:13] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: But, you know, you mean well, but really it’s, it’s, it’s very much not helpful. Um, and, and sometimes patients have even gotten to a place where it doesn’t actually even bother them anymore to hear those comments. I mean, they don’t like it, but it doesn’t really stick. And so then it’s, it’s even sometimes additionally frustrating because they’re kind of left with feeling like, “I’m actually in a place of acceptance.

[17:36] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Like, it sounds like you need to do a little work to get there yourself, but that’s separate from my own stuff.” So sometimes like boundary setting, even internal boundary setting can also be important for, you know, individuals of any age living with IBD.

[17:51] Amber Tresca: Yeah. That sounds actually like a pretty good comeback.

[17:53] Amber Tresca: Are there any other comebacks that you offer to your patients that you can share or that you feel comfortable sharing?

[18:01] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: I have a lot of good ones. Good. Most I probably shouldn’t share…

[18:04] Amber Tresca: But I like this about coming back with, “Well, I’ve kind of- Yeah … dealt with this, and it sounds like you need to come around to dealing with it yourself.”

[18:11] Amber Tresca: Like, I real- I really like that one. That might be a really good one for parents- Yeah … especially.

[18:15] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yes. Like, you know, what we might think of as like this is a you problem. Yeah. But that’s not really the best way to say it probably, but that tends to be the way that I initiate that discussion with the patient so they feel very seen, and we can have a laugh about it or whatever.

[18:31] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, but it really is true. I mean, there’s better ways to say it, of course, but obviously chronic illness does impact the family system as a whole or your, you know, marital relationship, whatever it is. Mm-hmm. But we also still have to remember that that’s, that can be true, and it’s also very much true that it’s going to still be very different than the person themselves who is living in that body, yeah.

[18:52] Amber Tresca: Right. Absolutely. And as you well know, I can only think of you at, at, you know, nine years old and then as a teenager. Your life just gets taken over by appointments, medications, and then the symptoms, especially in digestive disease and IBD. They really affect your life, um, so significantly. And so how do you help your patients?

[19:16] Amber Tresca: They’re, they’re young. They’re forming this, uh, an identity or trying to form an identity. How do they break through and form a sense of self that doesn’t really revolve around their health challenges?

[19:31] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yeah. I think what helps the most is asking patients to consider who am I outside of managing my IBD?

[19:41] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Because when all of that stuff takes over, the appointments, the symptoms, the meds, all the things, it’s naturally very easy to lose the thread of our own interests and our passions, our relationships. You know, all the stuff that really makes us, us. Mm-hmm. Um, so I really try to help my patients rebuild that identity around what is still theirs, not even a diminished version of who they were, but really something real and full, um, in its own terms.

[20:08] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So it’s really less about ignoring the illness, of course, and more about making sure that it’s not the only thing that’s left in the room at the end of the day. And I, and I think that that’s definitely something I can think of when I was that age that would’ve really helped me had I heard it or been giving, given guidance.

[20:25] Amber Tresca: Yeah, that makes sense. Um, and you know, you already mentioned how- Some, especially younger people, or maybe not especially, but younger people, might keep things to themselves or even minimize it. Um, and it sounds like sometimes that’s, it’s putting on a brave front and, and it’s, it’s to make other people feel comfortable, maybe family members or others.

[20:52] Amber Tresca: But, you know, I don’t think anybody wants to fall into that, where you’re minimizing things and putting on a face that kind of looks like, you know, toxic positivity, but neither do you wanna be in that space where you’re totally feeling hopeless. I’m a mother of teenagers, so I can see how people might, uh, self-sort into one of those two camps.

[21:13] Amber Tresca: How do you help, uh, your patients sort of like get into the middle and, and find that healthy sense of self while not minimizing things?

[21:23] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yeah. Absolutely. Especially when we have an illness that is most often invisible from, to most people as well, right? Yeah. So it’s even easier sometimes to mask. I think kind of the antidote, if you will, to both extremes, whether it’s minimizing and masking, uh, versus maybe engaging in behaving more hyper-vigilantly around the illness so that we can make sure that everyone really gets it.

[21:51] Amber Tresca: Yeah.

[21:51] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: I think what’s best for both of those extremes is honesty, and oftentimes that starts in the therapy room before it goes anywhere else. So helping patients recognize that they don’t have to perform in one way or the other, and we also don’t have to live in the worst-case scenario place either, which is also often the case.

[22:11] Amber Tresca: Yeah.

[22:11] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: We can learn how to name what is actually hard out loud to somebody, even if it’s just me, and that is really what lets us hold both of those truths. It’s difficult. I am still gonna build my life, though. Some days I’m gonna look really ill. Other days I’m gonna feel awful and look totally fine. It’s all gonna be there.

[22:32] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: And also, you know, of course, helping people find their people. We know like connection is so important for so many things. So whether that is your therapist to start, you know, and obviously in a professional manner, um, or a support group, you know, through one of the wonderful organizations that we do have in the IBD community.

[22:49] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, or even just like one friend who, even if they don’t quite get it yet, they’re willing to get it. Great. Um, even a pet Cats can be great too, ’cause they can’t talk back to you in the same way. Um, so I, and I say that ’cause my patients who might be listening to this when it airs know how much I love cats and how therapeutic I find them.

[23:08] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So- Mm … pets we also don’t wanna forget about. Um, but really helping them find their people and their support, and sometimes it is just doing some exposure work live in a session where I may be role-playing a friend, a family member, whomever, for a while, helping that patient gain confidence in setting those boundaries or naming, um, whatever it is that they wanna name before they feel confident enough to do so outside of session.

[23:34] Amber Tresca: Mm-hmm. You know, having access to the internet has really been great for people with IBD or other kind of conditions. We can find one another. One of the things that worries me, though, is that maybe sometimes it skews towards the worst-case scenario. So Folks that are doing well are not really necessarily looking for support throughout living their lives.

[23:55] Amber Tresca: So there can be a tendency to, to sort of hear the, the scary stories a little bit more often than you hear the good ones, you know? So I mean, I j- you know, I try to, I try to have balance of both on, on this show as well, but I, I think it, it is really tricky. And so finding your way through that as a young person, I, I think must also be really very confusing.

[24:20] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yes. And I also hear from a lot of people that, oh, s- now that I’ve met X, Y, or Z person that has these things going on with their IBD or maybe their presentation is more severe and mine isn’t, maybe I should just like stop worrying or caring so much- Yes … and stop being selfish, right? So it’s like then they’re beating themselves up for-

[24:40] Amber Tresca: Mm-hmm

[24:40] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: being in a better place health-wise too, which obviously is not, is not good. So yes, it’s, it’s, you know, obviously the resources we have on the internet are double-edged swords for sure, wonderful and, and could be harmful as well. So we have to navigate that sometimes when it shows up. Other times we might notice certain things given, you know, the time that we may have been spending with that patient, that they might be more, you know, kind of like predisposed to.

[25:06] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Mm-hmm. So then we can kind of create a buffer before we share a resource or what might s- tell us. They might start this support group soon. We can have those conversations maybe ahead of time if, if we can catch it, um, as well so that some of those things don’t end up unfolding later. Or if they do, it’s a lot easier to kind of move back to a more healthier space.

[25:27] Amber Tresca: Yeah. That, uh, that’s a great strategy to try to head things off before they happen. And speaking of resources, my, uh, next question was gonna be about having some advice for your patients and for families who are listening right now who might be your patients. And they’re struggling with moving forward.

[25:48] Amber Tresca: They’re worried about how a chronic condition will affect their lives. I think in particular, um, I hear from a lot of parents about their children in regards to this. Um, what kind of final advice would you, would you give?

[26:00] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yeah. So I mean, what I would say first and foremost is, you know, you are not alone.

[26:06] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Clearly, there are those of us out there that really understand the magnitude of this illness and the impact that it can have, and that there’s also research to support Evidence-based treatments that really do work too. Um, so speaking specifically to GI psychology, you know, where I practice, um, we have a ton of free resources on our website, which is simply just www.gipsychology.com.

[26:33] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, we have tons of blog posts on a variety of topics. Probably all the ones that we’ve covered have already been posted on our website already, but a ton more- Mm-hmm … that we didn’t have a g- uh, have a chance to speak about. Free handouts, even for, like, school professionals, but certainly parents and patients as well.

[26:51] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, we have short video clips explaining certain tools and evidence-based treatments that we offer and that the field of gastro psychology offers. So that’s definitely a wonderful place to start. Certainly, if you’re thinking about maybe exploring the behavioral health side of, of treatment for IBD, our website also offers free 15-minute phone consultations.

[27:10] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So there’s no… You know, you don’t have to certainly sign up for anything preemptively by any means. You can learn a little bit more and see if it, the, the fit is right. And then just more specifically through, uh, our practice, we do have a, um, IBD group. We’ve been doing a kind of like a rolling basis throughout the year.

[27:29] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Our next group starts on September 29th from 5, 5 to 6:15 PM ET, I believe. Um, and that is right now just for adults, so 18 plus diagnosed with either UC or Crohn’s. Um, and we are doing that in partnership with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and, uh, the American College of Gastroenterology, which is really exciting.

[27:49] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yeah. So this is really for IBD patients, um, who want to have, um, who want to have that sense of support and understanding in a group of others who also have that disease. Um, but we’re also using our two gold standard treatments in the field of gastro psych throughout that eight weeks of psychotherapy, um, cognitive behavioral therapy for GI conditions, and gut-directed hypnotherapy as well.

[28:11] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Um, so a lot of help with reducing stress, anxiety, inflammation, and certainly flare-ups related to IBD. That’s also nationwide. And then we have some other workshops as well. These are not therapy groups, and they’re shorter length, so anyone can join them. You don’t have to have one GI condition or another, even just long-standing GI symptoms.

[28:31] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: If you wanna learn more about the gut-brain connection and more easier, straightforward coping skills that you can implement pretty quickly, um, that group might be right for you as well. Um, so you can find info about all of that on our website. And even for providers, we also have, um, a portion of our website for providers to directly refer patients to us using a HIPAA-compliant form as well.

[28:53] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So a lot of good stuff out there website-wise, and then I guess social media. All of our social media handles are attached to our website, so you can find us on Instagram and LinkedIn and, you know, YouTube, Facebook, you name it. Um, and then specifically, I’m also on Instagram at drantoniarepollet as well.

[29:12] Amber Tresca: Perfect. I will put all of that information in the show notes so people can find it easily. Wow, you did such a beautiful job about going through all of that. Oh my gosh, you even came up with some stuff that I didn’t even know about. I didn’t know that there was a form for providers as well, so I wanna make sure that people know that that is there.

[29:26] Amber Tresca: Perfect. I love it. Antonia, I just, I, I wanna ask you a question a little bit more about you. Usually, uh, we talk about some heavy things on this show, so I usually wanna, like, bring it up at the end to talk about something a little lighter. Um, you happened to mention cats. You have cats? Is that right? How many cats do you have?

[29:45] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: I can’t, can’t live without them. I have two cats r- right now. I would have more, but my husband won’t let me.

[29:52] Amber Tresca: Well, tell me, you know, what are their names? What do they look like?

[29:57] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Sure. Um, I, s- usually they’re around me, but I kicked them out given we were recording this. Yeah. So unfortunately I can’t bring them in for anyone to see.

[30:04] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: But, um, so we have Pearl. She is a tortie, female tortie, um, really chunky, lovable gal. And then we have, uh, our newest cat joined our family a few months ago. His name is Bubba Bear. Um, and he is, like, the biggest, fluffiest guy, um, but he’s like a gentle giant and kind of like a little bit of a, a… What’s the word I’m looking for?

[30:29] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: He doesn’t really understand that he’s a cat, so he’s still- … like kind of learning how to be a cat, so he’s definitely clumsy and just makes him more lovable. Yeah.

[30:38] Amber Tresca: I have one cat that’s like that as well. Like, he really just doesn’t know- … where he fits into the family- Yeah … and that he’s a pet. He does not get it.

[30:46] Amber Tresca: Um, and his name is Loki, uh, because he is a- Oh … trickster. Um, but so smart. And then we have Freya, who… And he’s a tuxedo. And then we have Freya, who’s, um, just, she’s just a regular cat. You know what I mean? She’s just, just regular cat and really very sweet and, uh, and loving. And unfortunately she has to put up with Loki, who sometimes really gets in her business, so.

[31:12] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yeah. I think that’s usually the dynamic, at least from what I’ve experienced with a male and female. Mm-hmm. And, and still is with my current two as well. Mm-hmm. So, yeah.

[31:21] Amber Tresca: So, so Pearl- Yeah … is dealing well or not with the invasion of her space?

[31:26] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: She’s, she’s getting more used to it. Mm-hmm. She, we lost our, my cat that I had for years- Mm

[31:31] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: um, earlier this year, and she joined the family after, so that was like the only brother she ever knew. Okay. So I think she, you know, not think. I mean, I guess I can say think. I’m not an animal psychologist. But I would imagine she was grieving along with us, um, in her own way. Yeah, oh,

[31:46] Amber Tresca: I’m sure.

[31:47] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: So yeah, I mean, we introduced Bubba later, but, uh, but yeah, at first it was a little, little tricky.

[31:53] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: But they’re, they, they’ll cohabitate. Sometimes they might even lay close to each other, but most of the time I think he’s just kind of pissing her off- … ’cause he wants to play and she’s like, “

[32:03] Amber Tresca: Leave me alone.” Yes. That’s the dynamic I see-

[32:06] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yeah …

[32:06] Amber Tresca: also with children sometimes. Uh, that, that’s the dynamic between them.

[32:10] Amber Tresca: Yes. So.

[32:11] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Yeah.

[32:13] Amber Tresca: Oh.

[32:13] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Totally.

[Music: IBD Dance Party]

[32:14] Amber Tresca: Yeah. Thank you so much for working with me to cook up this episode and to go through these things. Uh, you brought up a lot of topics that I think will give people some things to reflect on, myself included, and I really appreciate you bringing your whole self, your personal experiences and that journey, and then your clinical expertise, and bringing them together because it really just benefits the patient community so much.

[32:43] Amber Tresca: And so we really appreciate you. Thank you so much.

[32:46] Antonia Repollet, Psy.D.: Oh, thank you so much. This was so fun. Thank you again for having me.

[32:54] Amber Tresca: Hey, super listener. Check the show notes to find links and information about the topics discussed in this episode. Plus, get a written transcript and much more on my website aboutibd.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with someone else or leaving a rating in your podcast app.

[33:12] Amber Tresca: Reviews and ratings help me grow this show and bring you more great content. Thanks for listening and remember, until next time, I want you to know more about IBD.

[33:26] Amber Tresca:

About IBD is a production of Mal and Tal Enterprises.

It is written, produced, and directed by me, Amber Tresca.

Mix and sound design is by Mac Cooney.

Theme music is from Cooney Studio. 

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