MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS FOR THE BARIATRIC POPULATION - ISSUES WITH FOOD...

At tonight's TTNT meeting, one topic of dicussion was the need for therapy for many WLS patients beyond the very basic pre-op psych eval that is part of most surgeons pre-op requirements.

In Novemeber, Dr. Srikanth had a support group facilitated by two mental health professionals, Sally Baird, PhD, and Wendy Rawlings, MS.  The topic of the meeting was managing holiday stress and I really liked the meeting and both Sally and Wendy were experienced in dealing with bariatric patients.  If I recall correctly, Wendy is herself a post-op WLS patient.

Here's their contact info:

Sally Baird, PhD
33600 6th Avenue South
Suite 212
Federal Way, WA 98003
(253) 952-4366


Wendy Rawlings, MS
33600 6th Avenue South
Suite 212
Federal Way, WA 98003-6743
(253) 661-0181

If anyone has therapy experience with either of these ladies (other than pre-op testing), I'd love to get some feedback.  Also, if anyone knows of other therapists who have experience working with bariatric patients, please add to this discussion thred.

Thanks!

Amy


*edited to add my newly minted century club card!

Hey Amy - I have been in therapy since I was 16 years old for substance abuse issues....never thought about the food as a substance  until I got sober in 1990. So before I had my surgery I got into couseling with an eating disorder therapist who also is a grief counselor(as I knew mourning the loss of certain foods as well as eating social events was going to be really hard on my emotions). As it turned out he works with a lot of Bariatric patients and is wonderful.

I highly recommend therapy!

Eileen

OMG, Eileen!  Look at you!  I hardly recognized you with the new avatar pic!  Congratulations on your success thus far and kudos to you for the hard work I know it took to achieve it!

Amy

ps:  I'm sorry for the late response, but I've not been as active on OH since I started a concerted effort to become more physically fit via exercise.  I've got a new goal to check in more frequently as I owe a debt of gratitude to the support I've received and the best way to repay it is through reciprocation.

Thanks for the post Amy!
 It is great to finally meet you! I hope you enjoyed the meeting as much as we enjoyed your input.
Talk to you soon!

Hey Amy,
  I don't know either of those ladies, however could check credentials for you if you like. I am also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I felt a bit ripped off because my insurance plan didn't have me talk to a counselor as part of my program, however they do others. Hmm. Go figure.
  I do agree that some form of "therapy" could be beneficial for many WLS patients with different formats as well.

Kathy

Hi Amy,

Thanks for sharing that info. I was meaning to ask you for their names again. Therapy is definitely what I need. I think I need to deal with my issues first to fix how I think.

Thanks,

Marilyn