About
Balanced Mind Rx
In Monmouth County, New Jersey
We collaborate with your doctors to create a personalized treatment plan.
About Our Practice
Finally Health Care That Connects the Dots
Finding relief from complex symptoms often means visiting multiple specialists — a gastroenterologist for chronic digestive issues, a psychiatrist for anxiety, nutritionists, and perhaps a therapist for stress. Yet these pieces rarely come together easily, until now.
Our Balanced Mind Rx team is helping patients, whose symptoms don’t fit neatly into any one category — where the mind and gut overlap, and traditional care has left more questions than answers. Our approach is grounded in the growing field of psych-gastroenterology, a discipline that unites mental health and digestive science to treat the entire body.
Psych-Gastro
What it Is — And Why It Matters
Psychogastroenterology, also called gastrointestinal psychology and psych-gastro, is a scientifically recognized specialty focusing on the brain–gut connection — how psychological and biological processes interact to influence digestive health.
Top medical institutions nationwide such as Stanford Health Care, University of Michigan and the Rome Foundation have confirmed that conditions like IBS, IBD, and GERD cannot be separated from their psychological context.
The field uses evidence-based psychological therapies — such as gut-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), stress reduction, and gut-directed hypnotherapy — to reduce GI symptom severity and improve quality of life. These treatments are validated by extensive clinical data and are now being adopted by top medical centers nationwide.
At Balanced Mind Rx, we bring this discipline to New Jersey — helping patients who’ve spent years searching for answers to finally find treatment for both mind and gut together.
Curious how these therapies work day-to-day? Learn more about our approach to Psychogastroenterology and treatment plans.
About Debra Peneiras
Clinical Expertise. Coordinated Care.
Debra Peneiras MSN, APN, PMHNP-BC is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) with advanced clinical training in psychiatry and gastroenterology-related behavioral health.
Debra’s professional experience includes working with adults experiencing chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and functional GI disorders — conditions now recognized as Disorders of Gut–Brain Interaction (DGBIs).
These disorders affect millions of Americans and are often misunderstood or misdiagnosed when treated through a single-specialty approach.
Balanced Mind Rx was founded by Debra’s passion to help patients move beyond fragmented care and toward a unified treatment plan where patients receive:
Comprehensive psychiatric assessment and treatment planning
Medication management, when clinically appropriate
Evidence-based psychogastroenterology interventions
Collaborative care with gastroenterologists, psychologists, nutritionists, and hypnotherapists throughout New Jersey
Serving as both clinical provider and care orchestrator, Debra helps patients develop a complete, individualized strategy that aligns every part of their health — from the mind to the microbiome.
Personal Approach
Comprehensive Assessment
Every appointment begins with a full review of mental, physical, and digestive health to identify connections often missed in traditional settings.
Evidence-Based Treatment
Our psychogastroenterology-based model is grounded in research, and our methods integrate psychiatric care, lifestyle guidance, and brain-gut therapies proven to reduce anxiety and GI symptom severity by up to 70%.
Medication Management (If Appropriate)
As an Advanced Practice Nurse, Debra can prescribe and manage medications safely within a holistic care plan.
Collaborative Coordination
We partner with New Jersey–based GPs, gastroenterologists, psychologists, nutritionists, and hypnotherapists to ensure your care works in harmony — not in silos.
What You Can Expect
A Calm Start
Our first session (45–60 minutes) gives you space to talk freely — about symptoms, medical history, or how stress affects your body.
Thorough Evaluation
We review your health background, medications, lifestyle, and emotional wellbeing to build a clear clinical picture.
Personalized Plan
Your treatment may include brain-gut behavioral therapies, medication (when indicated), and integrative strategies tailored to your daily life.
Collaborative Goals
We define what relief looks like for you — fewer flares, steadier mood, better sleep, more energy — and create a plan to achieve it.
Open Communication
Every visit includes time for questions and conversation. You’ll always understand your care plan — no guessing, no gaps.
More Resources
Learn how anxiety and stress influence IBS through the gut-brain axis. Balanced Mind Rx in New Jersey offers evidence-based psychogastroenterology to help you find relief.