Question:
Psychologist
I went to a psychologist for a pre op interview. It lasted for 2 hours. She interviewed me and then I took 2 true or false tests.The first test had 509 questions and the second one had 100. Is this unusual? Also, she told me I needed to see a psychotherapist.i would like to know , if I don't see one will my insurance turn me down? She isn't the one the surgeon has do the interview. I had to go to her because she was a participating provider. I very annoyed at the outcome. Is there anything I can do? — memebv (posted on September 17, 2009)
September 17, 2009
The psych visit for Kaiser ins. patients is only about an hour long, and
there are no tests. How frustrating for you. Well, you could go to the
psychotherapist for one visit to find out what kind of therapy they
recommend and the likely number of visits needed. Or perhaps you can find a
different surgeon to get another psychologist's eval. Join some WLS support
groups to show them you're willing to take responsibility for the long-term
success of your surgery. Who's your ins. provider? The psych's intent is to
help you be successful, but the hoops we have to jump thru can make us feel
very powerless. Hugz!
— Janell C.
September 17, 2009
I forgot to say that I think the insurance company probably will turn you
down if you don't comply.
— Janell C.
September 17, 2009
I had RNY 2.5 years ago and had to take a 700 question MMPI test. The
reason they are so long is that they have built-in ways to tell if the
person is being truthful or not. The psychologist should have told you why
you were being sent to a psychotherapist. If not, callm her/him and ask.
— Muggs
September 17, 2009
I had to have an interview, but it was only about an hour. There was a
test, too... and some true/false, but it was a lot less than 500 questions.
Different psychologists have different tests, I guess.
Surgeons have learned that outcomes are not good for patients with
emotional and psychological issues that aren't dealt with. I won't tell you
my issues are entirely dealt with (could they ever be?) but I spent quite a
few years in therapy and learned a lot about how I deal (and don't deal)
with my emotions. Food is my drug of choice, I'm aware of it, and it does
scare me a little that this isn't completely resolved. I'm actually
thinking of getting back into psychotherapy to help deal with issues so my
surgery is more successful (even though the surgeon's psychologist didn't
suggest it). I'm still awaiting a date... have crossed the last hurdle
(endoscopy) and waiting for news that my surgeon's office has submitted my
surgery to my insurance company for approval.
We who deal with obesity need to examine ourselves lovingly and deal with
what we find. There are reasons we ate ourselves silly... and the reasons
are different for everyone. I deal with self-esteem issues, hard to sort
out at 49 how much comes now from weighing 360 pounds at 5' 8".
I am about to have a surgeon re-arrange my innards, I really want to NOT
screw up this opportunity by not dealing with my emotional eating issues,
y'know?
One website I've found helpful (you don't have to pay to get some of the
good info) is www.shrinkyourself.com.
Sorry to get a bit preachy. If dealing with therapists is new to you, I'll
say that it's really worth it to shop around... try several different ones
until you find one you feel comfortable with, they're all different, with
different approaches. Your dietitian/nutritionist may have some suggestions
for therapists sensitive to eating issues. This can be an important part of
our success with surgery, I believe.
— Greg K.
September 18, 2009
I had Blue Shield of Calif. and I too had to take the test with a lot of
questions on it. If you noticed they are the same question only worded
different. They just want to see if you are mentally stable enough to
handle a life changing operation and to find out if you have a history with
being anorexic or bulimic. (spelling might be wrong). The questions were
designed to see if you answered them differently based on how they were
worded. All you really need from the pysch visit is for them to tell you
that you are a candidate for the surgery. Perhaps going to a
Psychotherapist wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. The fact that you
will be cutting your ties with food (pre op) is better than waiting until
post op when you think you have made a wrong decision, and you think you
are hungry all the time. The visit will help you to understand why you do
what you do and how to handle your issues when you can't turn to food.
Don't look at this as a bad negative decision on her part. She is the
professional and she knows what she is looking for. You can still pass the
pysch test and get the surgery even though you would be seeing a
Psychotherapist. Nothing bad could come of it right? It will also help
with any depression issues pre or post op. Take her advice and go, give it
a try. Just make sure she states that you are mentally stable for surgery.
best wishes
— Kristy
September 18, 2009
Luckily I had seen a psychiatrist a few times for depression after a job
loss and he was the one I went to for my evaluation. We had about a 30
minute discussion and he wrote an evaluation that satisfied both
BCBS-Illinois and my surgeon. There was no other testing involved. I think
there are some that will move their addiction from food to shopping,
gambling or something else. They are trying to see how likely this is and
if you are really ready for a life-changing surgery like gastric bypass.
Just my two-cents worth.
Bob
— rkurquhart
September 18, 2009
When I went to my psychic eval for surgery the lady said she think i should
look into therapy and I asked her if it was a requirement for my surgery
and she said I am not saying you shouldn't have surgery but because you
have a high stress life you should go but she did think I had not good but
great coping skills. I gues it was hard to believe that I could handle all
my stressors without being depress. OH and I didn't follow thru with her
recommendation because therapy isn't going to fix my problem and I am not
an emotional eater either; and I was cleared for surgery. What took me so
long to get approval was I am going outside of my managed care group but
after that was squared away all was good.
— Papoose79
September 18, 2009
Mine lasted a little over an hour and a halfish - 150+ true false
questions, two other written sheets of questions and then he brought me in
and asked me some other questions. Next day he brings me back in to do my
evaluation and tells me that its "not up to him to decide if you
should or should not have wls". Basically its up to him to tell them
if you are mentally stable enough to have the surgery. He suggested I seek
further counseling to learn to "cope with things better" and
because I had never had counseling for childhood abuse. I took the advice
just because I am getting to the point to where I need to learn to tell
people know and not feel guilty doing so. I have also seen too many people
on here who didnt take the advice and ended up in a mess. Id feel better
going into things with the support of someone outside of my everyday
support system just to help me along the way.
— blueyezndevilsh
September 18, 2009
I have ghi and my psych eval was only about half an hour which was
surprising because my friend did hers at the same place but dif psych and
hers lasted about and hour i think it depends onthe person you see..and
yeah i think not going will effect your approval
— roddymilan
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