The overall goals of this exploratory, pilot study of women with IBS are to compare mindfulness meditation training to a patient support group (a previously validated control condition) in a small, randomized controlled clinical trial, in order to assess the feasibility of a larger, definitive trial. Specific aims are to evaluate primary and secondary outcome measures, to assess expectancy of benefit and scales measuring mindfulness (process measures), and to identify barriers to conducting such a trial in our setting. Sixty women meeting Rome II diagnostic criteria for IBS will be randomly assigned to one of two treatments - mindfulness meditation training or a support group - and will undergo 8 weekly group sessions plus a single day-long session. The primary outcome measure is improvement on the validated Irritable Bowel Symptom Severity Scale from pretreatment to the end of treatment, with follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months. Additional variables address alternative endpoints (e.g., Adequate Relief of IBS symptoms, disease specific quality of life) and mechanism of treatment effects (e.g., coping scales, psychological symptoms, Visceral Sensitivity Scale). The multidisciplinary research team includes physicians, psychologists, and educators.