Why Can't Psych Evaluation Results Be More Clear?

I Wish Psych Evaluation Results Were As Clear As Blood Lab Results

 

A few weeks ago I got a letter from my surgeon’s office that provided numerical results of my annual blood work-up, normal ranges for those results, and a few comments about how things look.  Happily, other than my hemoglobin being a little low because I gave blood a few days before my lab work was done, everything looks good.

 

I then found myself wishing that the results of my initial psych evaluation and ongoing therapy with a bariatric psychologist could be summarized as succinctly……something on the order of the following:

 

• Self-esteem on the low end of the normal range, but improving with therapy

 

• Depression in check

 

• Appears compliant with post-operative supplement, fluid intake, exercise, and dietary requirements

 

• Needs greater emphasis on developing relationship coping strategies

 

• Etc., etc.

 

I just think it would be really helpful to have a better sense of where a professional sees me from a mental/emotional health perspective.  Perhaps those kinds of statements are just too direct and I wouldn’t be able to handle them because they could be perceived as judgments about me as a person, but just as you can’t hide from blood work results, it can’t be healthy in the long run to be able to hide from an assessment of your current mental state.  Of course this comes from a man who twenty years ago spent more than a year telling a psychologist that I couldn’t possibly have a problem with depression……maybe I ought to add “exhibits stubborn male pride" to the list above (which would be better than “suffers from persistent horsesassitosis").  What do you think?  Would a written summary of your assessed mental state at the time of your initial psych evaluation have been helpful as you experienced such dramatic physical, emotional, and social changes after surgery?

 

RP

Great post, RP!  I think it would have been extremely helpful, and possibly could have prevented some of the trouble I encountered after surgery.  I think it would have been a great idea to delve more into the psychological issues that accompanied (and maybe caused in part) my obesity.  I think there would always be some psych issues due to the rapid weight loss and the extreme changes that occur so quickly in our bodies after surgery, but I think better psychological care would help us cope better.

Renee:

 I was kind of hoping that pre-ops and newbies would take a hint from my post and ask for something more concrete from their psychologists.  I wish I would have done so.

RP

Personally, I think my psych evaluator was incompetent.  So... I wouldn't ask for anything that mattered to me!

 I totally agree with you! I realize that in terms of physiological items things cannot be measured empirically but could be put in more concrete terms. My psych evaluator used words like suggests or recommends that further counseling might be beneficial. Well giving those obtuse words to a insurance company and what do you get. A rejection. My guy should know how to play the game by now. The problem with doctors is if they don't see you on a regular basis they don't get to know you. So they get a snapshot of what you are really like. They are trained to evaluate but with such little time with you they may not be able to great an accurate reading of what you are like. The other thing is it can lead to game playing, Tell them what they want to hear and not what you are really feeling. Sorry if this is coming across *****y but if I had known how he would report my condition I would have not been so honest and just told him what he needed to hear to pass me on down the line. That said I know there are things that I need to work on and I will be better for it.

I had Park Nicollet forward my results to my counselor and she went over in detail with me.  It was very interesting to have it all explained.