WISH upon a gut: can optimism ease IBS?
NCT ID NCT06866106
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a 9-week phone-based program called WISH that teaches positive psychology exercises to people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The goal is to see if the program is practical and helpful for improving symptoms. Researchers will compare it to an educational control group and look at how it affects the gut-brain connection.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Positive psychology (PP) intervention (behavioral)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, phone-based way to help IBS patients feel better by boosting optimism and reducing stress.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early feasibility study with only 50 people. It's not designed to prove the treatment works, and results may not apply to everyone with IBS.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * IBS Diagnosis: Adult patients with an IBS diagnosis meeting standardized Rome IV diagnostic criteria. * Language and communication: English fluency and access to a phone. Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of inflammatory bowel disease or other structural/biochemical primary gastrointestinal illness that better explains IBS-like symptoms: As reported by the patient, their physician, and/or documented in the medical record. * Severe psychiatric illness: Current manic episode, psychosis, or active substance use disorder diagnosed via the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) or Diagnostic Interview for Anxiety, Mood, and OCD and Related Neuropsychiatric Disorders (DIAMOND). * Cognitive impairment: Assessed using a six-item cognitive screen developed for research. * Presence of atrial fibrillation or a cardiac pacemaker, or daily use of beta blocking medication: As reported by the patient and/or documented in the medical record. * Plans to start or participate in another new behavioral health intervention or psychotherapy during the study period.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Massachusetts General Hospital
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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