What to expect from the psych eval

I've already done my nutritionist eval now all I have to do is the psych eval. I don't suppose anyone can let me know what to expect when I go and talk with them? I'm kind of nervous and not sure why.

I'm sure all psych evals are different depending on the person conducting it. Mine was a very quick process and seemed more like a conversation. She just wanted to make sure that I had the tools in place to deal with the mental issues that would be coming afterwards. She was most concerned with emotional eating and stuff like that.

It's natural to be nervous but you have nothing to worry about.

I would agree with gh; don't stress over it. As he said, they just want to see that you have a support system in place and that you have been prepared by your team to have an idea what's coming up. Also, if you've had any mental health issues in the past or currently, they want to know that you will get help if you need it.

I'm curious about this too. I have mine scheduled for tomorrow and was a little weirded out when they told me to plan on being there for 3 hours. I guess it won't be some quick sit down and chat session.

They are very different from therapist to therapist, but mine asked about my eating habits, family history, current family situation. She asked me why I wanted surgery and what my plan was to ensure my success. It was really just regular stuff. I had to get a copy and turn it in to the surgeon. She said some things like I made good eye contact, I appeared confident, and seem to have sound decision making processes.

I know my surgeon stated at his seminar that he required people with psych disorders to have their illnesses under control via med compliance and whatever else goes along with that. I don't have psych issues so I didn't have a problem there.

Of course each psychologist evaluates patients differently, but the overall purpose of the psych eval (from my understanding after speaking with my psychologist) is to make sure that you are mentally stable enough to not only follow the strict requirements that come with the surgery pre and post op, but also to make sure that there aren't any serious underlying emotional/psychological issues related to eating that will derail you along the way that need to be addressed now. For example, if you suffer from depression and think that this surgery is your last hope and God-forbid it doesn't work out for some reason, they want to make sure that you won't become suicidal or anything like that. So it is dual purposed - one to make sure that you are okay and two to make sure that the surgeon/hospital covers itself in the event of something tragic happening.

As far as the questioning goes, mine lasted one hour and was only one session. Some psychologists/surgeons may require multiple visits. We talked about my past relationships, my job, general eating habits, and then the rest of the time was spent taking general cognitive tests that covered anxiety, depression, memory, and some ADHD. There was also a test that resembled an IQ test mixed in there too.

I agree with what everyone else said. Seems to me she also wanted to be sure I did not have unrealistic expectations about the results of the surgery, like that it would be a simple way for weight to drop off without effort, or the amount of weight I would lose. It was about a one hour meeting and an fairly easy conversation.

There's quite a bit of variation in what people experience. I already have a psychiatrist to manage my bipolar meds, so he just said "yes, you're fine," and wrote me a letter. Other people have had lengthy interviews or even quizzes to fill out!

In general, they're looking for things that might make you a poor candidate for surgery. If you have problems, but they're being treated, that's not likely to disqualify you. But major red flags might include:

• Active eating disorders, including binge eating
• Untreated mental illness
• View that surgery is "magic" and won't require any hard work or behavior modification on the patient's behalf

They want to make sure you are doing it for all the right reasons. Like for you and not someone else in your life. They also want to make sure you have dealt with the head issues that make us eat. Everyone is different but just answer the questions honestly and let us know how things go

Just an earnest question and statement to go along with the original....there are many comments suggesting they want to make sure we have dealt with our emotional eating issues, stress eating and other food issues but don't many of us have disordered eating diagnosed or undiagnosed...as well as most of those other problems related to eating and food? I know that some of the way my body is built is genetic but I feel like most of us wouldn't have gotten to the point of needing wls if we didnt have emotional problems with food? I feel like I would be saying yeah I got all those things during the eval. Lol. What were you expecting! If I had dealt with all that I wouldn't need wls! Seems like the psychiatrist would be suggesting therapy routinely for everyone ya know?