| Interventions |
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 will start the MBSR course immediately after recruitment and Group 2 will participate in the programme about 8 to 10 weeks later. The course itself will be the same for both groups. The process for each group is outlined below: 1. Group 1: 1.1. A member of the research team will ask questions about any gastro-intestinal symptoms and about current emotional well-being. People who are eligible for the research will be asked to complete a consent form and some additional questionnaires. This will all take place during the routine outpatient gastroenterology appointment. 1.2. Participants will then be invited to attend an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction (MBSR) course (one session per week for 1.5 hours), which will be delivered in a group format with other young people. In this course people will be taught a range of mindfulness practices that have been shown to help people manage the stress associated with pain and physical symptoms and promote emotional well-being. In addition to this participants will be given a CD of a variety of different mindfulness practices and asked to do these at home for approximately 20 minutes each day. 1.3. After the group sessions have ended, participants will be asked the questions about gastrointestinal symptoms, stress and well-being again at the next gastroenterology outpatient appointment. These assessments will be repeated again 10-12 weeks later at the next outpatient appointment. 2. Group 2: 2.1. A member of the research team will ask questions about any gastrointestinal symptoms and about current emotional well-being. People who are eligible |