Bio

Meredith Craven is a licensed clinical health psychologist. She received her PhD from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, where her focus was health psychology and psychogastroenterology (GI Psychology). She is the Director of GI Health Psychology in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Dr. Craven has training in brain-gut behavior therapies and gut-directed hypnotherapy, which can help improve GI symptoms, quality of life, and resilience. Her background in public health and clinical psychology, and interest in positive psychology inform her clinical and research interests. She is passionate about integrating mindfulness, culturally valued practices, and patients' strengths into her work.

Clinical Focus

  • Gastroenterology
  • Clinical Psychology

Academic Appointments

Administrative Appointments

  • Director, GI Health Psychology, Division of Gastroenterology (2021 - Present)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Co-Chair, ROME Early Career Committee (2020 - Present)

Professional Education

  • MPH, Emory Rollins School of Public Health, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education (2014)
  • Residency: San Francisco VA Medical Center Post Doctoral Psychology Fellowship (2021) CA
  • Internship: VA Palo Alto Health Care Psychology Training (2020) CA
  • PhD Training: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (2020) IL

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Academic staff Department: Medicine - Med/Gastroenterology and Hepatology Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Clinical Gastroenterology 430 Broadway St MC 6341 Redwood City, CA 94063 (650) 498-6323 (fax)

Additional Info

Links

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Dr. Craven’s research reflects her background and interests in psychogastroenterology (GI psychology), public health, and positive psychology. She has collaborated on projects across the spectrum of GI disorders, using quantitative and qualitative methods. She is interested in the role of biopsychosocial factors on symptom perception, experience, and related health outcomes and behaviors. In particular, she is passionate about investigating the role of patient strengths that can be fostered clinically, and mind-body practices.

All Publications

  • Stigma experiences of patients living with gastroparesis. Neurogastroenterology and motility : the official journal of the European Gastrointestinal Motility Society Taft, T. H., Craven, M. R., Adler, E. P., Simons, M., Nguyen, L. 2021: e14223

    Abstract

    INTRODUCTION: Stigmatization toward chronic digestive diseases is well documented. Patients perceive others hold negative stereotypes toward their disease and may internalize these beliefs as true. Because of this, stigmatization is associated with poor outcomes across disease-related and psychosocial domains. No study to date evaluates stigmatization toward patients living with gastroparesis (GP), a poorly understood disease affecting gastric motility. We aimed to gain deep understanding of stigma in patients living with gastroparesis.METHODS: Patients with GP were recruited from two university-based gastroenterology practices as well as patient advocacy support groups. Participants underwent a semi-structured qualitative interview about their experiences with stigma related to their GP diagnosis, which were audio-recorded and transcribed to text for analysis using a grounded theory approach. Major themes with representative quotations were documented.RESULTS: Twenty-three patients participated. The majority were White, female, with idiopathic GP under the care of a gastroenterologist. All patients reported stigma related to GP. Seven major themes were found: stigma from healthcare providers, stigma within interpersonal relationships, GP as an invisible disease, blame, unsolicited suggestions on how to manage disease, disclosure, and stigma resistance.CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to describe stigma experiences in patients with GP. The results suggest patients experience considerable stigmatization toward their condition from multiple sources. Patients also demonstrated resistance to negative beliefs, which can serve as a protective factor for the negative effects of disease stigma. Clinicians should be aware of stigma in GP patients, including their own potential internal biases and behaviors.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/nmo.14223

    View details for PubMedID 34337831

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4400-7058