Question:
Was wondering...

if anyone could tell me what to expect from my psych eval? It is this Friday, 10/11/02. I have never had one done and have NO CLUE what to expect. What exactly are they looking for? What do I need to know to be prepared? Any certain questions or tests I need to know about? Thanks for all the help AMOS!    — chatterbox213704 (posted on October 7, 2002)

October 7, 2002
I would imagine all Psychologists are different, but with mine, he and I talked for about 45 minutes and then he took me into a little room where I took some written tests. Three or four of them. A couple were short, one had 90 questions and the last one was 567 questions! very long, and some really strange questions, but it was absolutely amazing what they learn about you from the answers. The BEST and only thing to do is answer them all HONESTLY and take your time with it. Don't rush through it. Then I met with him a week later and we went over the results. I was amazed at how he described me as a person and described my personality from my answers. You don't have to prepare in any way. Just read carefully and answer honestly. It will all come out just fine. Good luck in your journey.
   — pjnick

October 7, 2002
The psych. will just ask you some basic background questions and may have you do a questionnaire or two. He/she will look for any area that you may struggle with post-op, such as...Are your expectations realistic? Do you have a support system? How will you hanndle stress without food? etc. Suffering from depression or another mental disorder does not exclude someone from WLS unless you are delusional or psychotic. The important part of the eval is to give your surgeon confirmation that you know what your doing; are doing it for the right reasons (mainly health related, not just to be a swimsuit model) and that you understand the potential risks, lifestyle alterations, and that this is a tool, not a cure. I see a lot of posts suggesting people want to "cover up" stuff or present a certain way. All I can say is that most psychs (myself included) can see through the BS! So, just be yourself....that is truly good enough! Best wishes on your journey!
   — Charree K.

October 7, 2002
I can only speak from my own experience with my initial psych evaluation, which was extremely negative, but here's some advice: Don't offer too much information. I discussed some things with the dr. (being raped, past depression, etc.) that in retrospect I probably shouldn't have, because she concluded that I wasn't ready for WLS...After that, I went to a psych recommended by my WLS doc, and had no problems. (Of course this time I adopted the "Everything is fine, I-just-want-my-outsides-to-reflect-my-insides" stance, which is the truth anyway.) I only WISH this inital doc had given me a test or been more WLS friendly. I thought by showing that I was fully knowledgeable about WLS and "opening up", that this would be the easiest part of the whole process...WRONG! Anyway, don't lie, answer all questions you're asked, but don't volunteer any info. Now, having said all that, you're probably nervous...don't be! If you don't get the answers you want/deserve, there's always a second opinion...Good luck.
   — rebeccamayhew