We’re glad you’re here. It’s not easy finding a therapist in 2024, especially one who understands the complexity of life with a chronic medical illness. We are a small group of psychologists and clinical social workers who do just that, work exclusively with folks with chronic medical illness. We have extensive experience working in GI psychology, sometimes called gastro-psychology or brain-gut therapy, and work with folks with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), eosinophilic esophagitis, GERD, gastroparesis, cyclical vomiting, and more. We fully understand the mind-gut connection and how stressful living with chronic symptoms can be. We also understand how stressful our healthcare system is, and that your symptoms are 100% NOT “all in your head” or because you “can’t manage your stress.”
As you can imagine, demand for these services is very high. We do our best to get new patients in quickly, but there can be a wait to be seen. Which we know isn’t ideal or what you want to hear. Dr. Taft, who runs the place, is very mindful of preventing burnout in our team, so we limit how many people are seen by each clinician. Otherwise, nobody wins. We appreciate your understanding. Please look through our website to learn more about us, our approach to your care, how billing and insurance works, and then please reach out to us to set up a consultation. We look forward to meeting with you, whether it’s in our office, via tele-health, or a hybrid of the two!
Hearing the news that you have a chronic condition is never easy. Often times, it takes months or years to even figure out what exactly are the sources of your chronic symptoms. Sometimes our medical technology cannot give you a good answer, leaving you “medically unexplained.” Feeling unwell, combined with navigating all that comes with the U.S. medical system, can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, all the social and emotional hits a person takes when living with a chronic medical illness often don’t make it into discussions at your doctor visits. This is where we can help.
Founded in 2012, the OPBMed team specializes in working with adults and children living with a chronic medical illness. Our mission is to empower patients by connecting mind and body for better health. We focus on your whole lived experience including how your condition affects your emotions and daily life, navigating the healthcare system, coping with anxiety or depression, and living in a meaningful, value-based way.
Why See One of Us?
When you or someone close to you is diagnosed with a chronic illness such as diabetes, asthma, or irritable bowel syndrome, many challenges can occur beyond the physical symptoms being experienced. Some describe it like riding a roller coaster, but we like to think of it as hiking in the mountains. There are the same ups and downs, but you have more strength and control over things than you may realize.
Taking care of your mental well-being is equally as important as taking care of your physical well-being. Unfortunately in today’s medical world, there often isn’t time to address the social and mental effects of living with a chronic illness every day. This is where meeting with one of our specialists can be invaluable. We offer behavioral medicine therapies, such as CBT for IBS or medical hypnotherapy for chronic migraine, that can treat your illness symptoms, either to complement your medical treatment or fill in where medical treatments are lacking.
Specializing in the Complexities of Chronic Digestive Disease
We are perfectly happy to talk to you about poop. Our clinicians are experts in treating people living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and Indeterminate Colitis), Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders (EGIDs), and other chronic digestive conditions. To read more about how psychologists can help with these conditions, visit
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/01/integrated-care
We offer gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS, an evidence-based treatment with over 30 years of clinical trial research supporting its effectiveness in over 70% of patients, as well as other psychogastroenterology services. For more information about hypnotherapy for IBS and related conditions, visit
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kzxm9m/is-hypnosis-good-for-ibs-symptoms
Coping with Long COVID
We are here to help those living with the lingering effects of a COVID-19 infection, dubbed Long COVID. Our experience in working with people living with conditions that are often poorly understood with limited treatments (illnesses like dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, IBS, POTS) naturally translates to helping with the complex impacts of this condition. We understand COVID can affect so many different parts of the body, and the frustration of not having good answers only compounds the physical challenges you may be facing.
Our Location
Located at the corner of Marion St. and North Blvd, across the street from the CTA “L” Green Line, Harlem Ave. stop and the Metra Union Pacific West Oak Park station. 1 mile north of I-290. Parking is available in the municipal lot for $1.00 per hour. The Passport Parking app can be used to pay with your smart phone. Our main number is (833) 721-2886.
Tele-Health Services
For patients who live in Illinois but regular meetings in our office would be challenging due to travel distance, or prefer the flexibility tele-health has to offer, we offer services via HIPAA compliant video chat platforms. It is up to the discretion of the clinician you meet to determine whether tele-health is appropriate for you. Blended models (some tele-health and some in-office visits) are also available for most patients. Most insurance companies do cover tele-health visits without additional approvals.
We also offer telehealth services to people who live in a state that participates in the PSYPACT Interstate Jurisdiction Compact and are shaded in the darker blue on this map. If your state does not have enacted PSYPACT legislation, unfortunately we cannot see you across state lines. Please check the official map periodically as states are added to the list.