Psych DR or Counselor?

Please help! I am three weeks away from having surgery with Virginia Mason. I was wondering if anyone out there has had a counselor or psychologist that has helped them through? I know there are many underlying issues I need to work on that caused me to get so heavy in the first place. Second thought-I wanted to say thank you to everyone who posts on this board. I really feel I found the best doctor for me with all of your help. All the info out there can be overwhelming-you all are really so helpful,honest,and caring. Thank you!

Mary, I love talking with my psychiatrist - I don't have any underlying issues but she is helping me prepare for the things that are coming. I look forward to our visits. My insurance does cover all the visits too. Kadie

Hi Mary. . . I am four weeks away from having my surgery on March 21st. I had a therapist when I started the process to have weight loss surgery. i first got active about WLS back in May 2005. I have brought up my WLS saga in therapy from time to time but it has not been a focus of my therapy until just recently. As my surgery date approaches, I am finding it very helpful to have someone to talk about whatever is up. Just yesterday, as a matter of fact, I saw her and we did talk about my anxieties, which are growing with each passing day. It is clear to me that having someone to talk to is very helpful to managing my stress. I'm OK about the surgery, just having some normal anxiety. Talking to a pro helps. I am amazed that someone else has posted that they have no underlying issues. Food is so central to the human experience and those of us who qualify for WLS find ourselves morbidly obese and needing the surgery because something about our relationship to food and our bodies is off-balance. . . to me, a fundamental disconnect with something as central to human life as food is compelling evidence that anyone having WLS has some kind of underlying issues around food, body image, health or something. Gosh, we're all human. . . all humans have some kind ofunderlying issues, eh?! But each person has different ways of addressing their issues. I would say, Mary H, if you are feeling that it might be helpful to talk to a professional, then you should check it out. It might be hard to find the right therapist-type on such short notice. I haven't hired a psychiatrist in awhile but they tend to be in short supply and first appointments can require a waiting period. Good luck.