Dr. Sarah Ballou is the director of the GI Psychology Service and Instructor in Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School. She specializes in the use of cognitive and behavioral interventions to treat a range of gastrointestinal conditions. Her research interests include evaluating the psychosocial impact of chronic gastrointestinal diseases,

identifying psychosocial factors associated with placebo response in chronic GI conditions, and developing and implementing behavioral treatments to improve quality of life among this patient population.