Hi drsf415. After a little sleuthing I came to realize you're a psychologist. Kudos to you for going the extra step in an effort to help your client.
Crohn's disease is truly a terrible disease and it affects everyone differently. Some have long periods of remission (such as the wonderful Crabby above) and others seem to struggle with constant symptoms. A gastroenterologist I respect a great deal talks about how Crohn's is often mismanaged. A GI well versed in IBD can do great things for most. Someone who doesn't understand the intricacies can easily mismanage the disease. As such, the first step would be to make sure they're getting the standard of medical care that they deserve.
Even with proper medical care, Crohn's and other forms of IBD can be so very hard on the mental and emotional status of patients. I'm glad your patient has sought out someone such as yourself who obviously cares.
Stress plays a large role for many with Crohn's. Helping your patient develop tools to proactively deal with stress can be a huge support. He no doubt has many fears as well, many quite justified. I have no idea how to help him face such fears, but maybe you do. I personally educate the heck out of myself about every facet of inflammatory bowel disease. It makes me feel a little more in control. I'm guessing the best means to deal is based upon the person's personality type but you'd know better than me.
I know you can't answer the questions that Crabby asked, but they are good questions. If your client ever wants to share his story here and his current treatment regimen, we'd be happy to review it and offer any insight we might have. As a community, our collective knowledge is quite vast and we usually have at least a tip or two based upon the person's unique circumstance.
