Evening or Weekend Psychologist

Did anyone have to do 6 months of psychology appointments before their surgeons office would recommend them for WLS? If so how did you find the time to do that weekly? Did you find a psychologist who has evening or weekend hours? My surgeons office is requiring me to see a psychologist weekly for 6 months before they will recommend me for WLS I misunderstood and initially thought I only needed to see a psychologist once a month so I started seeing a very good psychologist they recommended. Her office is about 45 min - a hour away from my job each way. She's only available during weekdays, but I was willing see her once a month. However when I was told I'm required to attend WEEKLY sessions, I knew there was no way I could take that much time off work each week. That would mean missing 12 hours of work a month. My job would flip out and THEY are the one's providing my health insurance, free of charge I might add. That's not fair to them and I love my job. Thus I decided to go back to my old therapist whose office is not far from my job and my school because he has very flexible office hours, he's available weekends and evenings. However today he reminded me that he is not a PSYCHOLOGIST, he's a counselor (LPC) Licensed Practical Counselor. Now I think I have to search for a psychologist again. I work full time from 7:45 am - 4:30 pm I also go to school full time from 5:45 pm - 9pm The only time I can see someone would be Friday evening around 5pm, or anytime Saturday or Sunday. Does anyone have any recommendations?  

what part of town do you live in? I know a good one in Mesa.....He could do eves or possibly weekends.I know he works saturdays... let me know. Vicki

Sorry to hear about the additional appointments. I didn't have to do that with Dr. B office. Maybe it's something new they are implementing. Hope you find what you need. Good Luck!

I didnt have to do that I went for one eval and 3 follow up and that was it. My psych eval was done by someone on my healh plan and she was a jerk. She said to me do you like hamburgers and I said yes and she said do you like milkshakes and I said yes. She then went off on me and the rest of my hour was her telling me how can I expect to lose weight if all I want to eat is hamburgers and milkshakes . I didnt say I wanted to eat them she asked me if I liked them.  Nevertheless I failed my psych eval so that is why I had to do the extra 3 visits. My psych eval was a regular twilight zone moment. I would definately call around to the other surgeons in the area and see if it mandatory with them. The reason why I say this is because if you were paying for your surgery with cash I doubt you would have to jump through these hoops. Good luck and may the force be with you.

Wow! Sounds like your psych was a PSYCHO! LOL Glad it worked out.

it's weekly?  that seems weird, very weird and very expensive.  co-pays add up.   Did you clarify that with the office and your insurance company?  Seems a bit too excessive in my opinion. I know from friends and stories at support group that people have to go maybe twice a month or month, but weekly... I would think PCP would be good enough for weigh-in's etc. Maybe call the office and ask for Buddy or David to refer you to someone. Good Luck! ~Nicole

Our psychologist has openings every Sat from 7am to 11am.  He's a really great doctor that goes way out of his way to help his patients.  If you would like any more information let me know.