I'm a patient of Dr. Dan..I have a Psych question..

I have my first Psych Evaluation on Tuesday, and I'm really nervous. Can anyone tell me what to expect? I would really appreciate a little heads up...Thanks!

My 1st evail I just answered  a bazillion questions, and my 2nd evail he talked to me and basically wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into. He wanted to make sure I had researched the surgery, and knew what I would have to deal with afterwards. Basically they want to make sure you will be able to handle the after affects of surgery. For me the worst part was the fact that the office was so quiet and I felt too comfortable to tell him anything which coulda been a bad thing. Really its nothing you will be fine Good luck

Thank you so much Barbi. I appreciate your reply. I am on the shy side, so it is going to be hard for to talk to him. But I'm sure I'll do OK....Thanks again!

 Well, I "failed" my eval and had to see a psych 3 more times .  But that was a GOOD thing because I answered everything honestly, and I *did* need a few sessions to work out where my head was in terms of committment and fear. I had to really take the time with a neutral person (my psych) to work out whether I would be okay with this decision even in the event of a poor outcome/complications, whether I would be able to do the work needed on my health and intake without becoming (more) neurotic/obsessive about it and basically replacing my food addiction with a new obsession, etc. If my goal is a healthy, balanced life, not just weight loss, then I need to get my head and heart into the right place to achieve it.

The assessment is not challenging, just kind of long. My advice is to be honest, not to try to outthink the questions or answer them "correctly" but just to say what you really believe. If you turn out to need a couple of sessions to work a few things out, it will not really delay things and you are WORTH that investment of time.

Oh-- also -- where are you going? You may PM me if you want to.

Lisa,

You will probably go thru the same one I did. It took a little less than 2 hours. I spent 15 minutes filling in a form at the start. A psych student did my eval. She went though a series of questions that took about 45 minutes. The last 30-45 minutes were filling out questioneers about your life, emotions, feelings, etc...

Her questions were about how you feel about your weight, the surgery and the process. She asked if I understood the risks and benefits (You will have that on a written test after  -- no kidding!). She asked about why I ate, was it emotional, etc... It was a pretty tame session.

Tom

Lisa, my eval took a little under 2 hours as well.  It was all multiple choice answers on a long test.  You know, one of those where they ask the same quesion a million different ways to get an honest answer.  I was completely honest on my test (actually, always am with any doctors since that's their job to listen).  It came back spot on to my behavior and me.  I had a few follow up appts (two more than normal but that was my choice).  You, like me, have plenty of time to get through the psych eval because we both have to do the 6 months monitored weight control.  So don't sweat it because even if you fail, you have plenty of time to get on track and get that psych approval.  Just relax and be honest and it will fall into place.

Tom and Martha,

Thank you so much. I'm feeling a bit better about going to the Psych appointment. I'll be completely honest on the questions, and if I need a couple more sessions, well it can only be a good thing for me. I have come to realize that everything we are all going through is only to help us...it's all good! Thanks!!!