Behavioral Diabetes Institute addresses emotional, psychological aspects of living with diabetes

SAN DIEGO, Calif. Diabetes patients can ease their worries about living with the disease, as one organization focuses on an often-ignored area of treatment: The emotional and psychological issues surrounding both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

The Behavioral Diabetes Institute is the world's first organization dedicated to tackling the unmet psychological needs of people with diabetes. The BDI offers an array of evidence-based clinical programs, all designed to help people overcome the emotional and behavioral obstacles to living well with diabetes. Based in San Diego, the BDI is committed to helping people master the unique challenges of diabetes, conducting behavioral research in diabetes and providing healthcare providers with the specialty behavioral training necessary for managing diabetes effectively.

The Behavioral Diabetes Institute was founded five years ago by William Polonsky, a clinical psychologist, certified diabetes educator, associate clinical professor at the University of California - San Diego, and author of “Diabetes Burnout: What To Do When You Can’t Take It Anymore.”

Polonsky and his colleagues provide useful tools through BDI’s Web site, BehavioralDiabetes.org. They also offer small group workshops and programs for adults and adolescents with diabetes throughout the year. These include their core program, "Getting on Track;" the multiweek depression series, "Feeling Good Again: Breaking the Depression/Diabetes Connection," and — new for 2010 — programs for eating disorders in diabetes.

For more information on the Behavioral Diabetes Institute, visit BehavioralDiabetes.org.