OMG...16 page psych test!

[happygirl65 5]

I can not believe some of the questions in here have a thing to do with how I feel about my body, surgery, or even my mental state. It seems completely rediculous actually.

A lot of the questions were repeated in multiple ways, probably to see how consistant you are in your answers but questions about religion, and beliefs about political issues....what the heck? I really honestly dont see how I feel about gays in the military or abortion, or interracial marriage or inter faith marriage can tell them anything about my mental readiness for this surgery or even my overal mental health....it seems really stupid.

The questions that clearly help define whether a person is depressed or wants to hurt themselves I can totally see but the other stuff just confuses me.

So I am annoyed but completed the test honestly anyway. Now I am prepared to go next Wednesday and have it all evaluated and talk to the doc. I am glad actually because I really want to ask him what is up with these questions! I am excited for the nutrition class and hope to be submitted for approval next week. It is exciting. I am looking forward to this inspite of all the hoops for the insurance company.

[HeatherinCA 10]

The first surgeon I went to check out had me do that, I was freaked out by that! That was part of the reason I didn't go with him. I think some of them were maybe to make sure you were paying attention? Not just circling random things? It totally rubbed me the wrong way.

My surgeon I chose just had me have a meeting with their psychologist and basically just asked me a few questions to make sure I'm ok. I think they want to make sure you can handle being skinny mentally, and make sure there is no "deeper" problems causing your overeating that might be worse if they surface.

[mandyb 3]

I think many people have to go through the "MENTAL TEST" before anything else is decided. I had a 10 page questionaire to fill out before my initial intake visit. They emailed it to me and when I went to print OMG 10 pages.

It was all about my family history, my history, when i became over weight, diets I have tried, suppliments I used, reason for being overweight, my religious views, my work status, maritial status, if my spouse is alright with my choice of WLS...

Then to have to be evaluated by the psychologist!!!! I am diagnosed already with anxiety and depression...I don't need them to tell me that!

Anyways, They really have to do that because some people are SERIOUSLY addicted to food. I had a friend of mine, her brother had the band done, and has completely lost his mind (because he couldn't turn to food). He turned to alcohol and drugs...lost his license and (WAS) a local fire fighter...Needless to say not anymore...but these surgeries are LIFE CHANGING!!!! Remember that! If you are not mentally stable enough then honestly, you shouldn't have surgery!

Good luck on your journey!!!

[Mewizza 3]

I took the same 16 page test.. I just took it to the best of my ability. The reason they ask the same question 3 different ways to make sure your consistent. I was upset that they didnt even asked me 1 question about why I'm doing the wls or how i think it will change me or what I expect. I was shocked. I took the stupid test to make sure I'm not hearing voices and I dont plan to kill anyone lol. Although I havent been approved yet and my insurance changed on the 1st, with my new insurance I wouldnt have had to do any of those silly test.

[MaybeBanding26 5]

I can not believe some of the questions in here have a thing to do with how I feel about my body, surgery, or even my mental state. It seems completely rediculous actually.

A lot of the questions were repeated in multiple ways, probably to see how consistant you are in your answers but questions about religion, and beliefs about political issues....what the heck? I really honestly dont see how I feel about gays in the military or abortion, or interracial marriage or inter faith marriage can tell them anything about my mental readiness for this surgery or even my overal mental health....it seems really stupid.

The questions that clearly help define whether a person is depressed or wants to hurt themselves I can totally see but the other stuff just confuses me.

So I am annoyed but completed the test honestly anyway. Now I am prepared to go next Wednesday and have it all evaluated and talk to the doc. I am glad actually because I really want to ask him what is up with these questions! I am excited for the nutrition class and hope to be submitted for approval next week. It is exciting. I am looking forward to this inspite of all the hoops for the insurance company.

im a psychologist and from the description you gave, i cant even figure out what test they gave you! my psych eval was literally a conversation with the psychologist. i had heard that people were given the MMPI (personality test) and other things of that nature. so, i had to disclose that i am a psychologist and those things wont work on me! i was pleasantly surprised at how my psych eval went....

i will be interested to hear your guy's explanation for why all those questions were necessary!

[melzie_99 22]

My psych eval was just a short conversation with a licensed addictions counselor; I was actually kind of disappointed it was so brief. No one has discussed with me the emotional/mental side of the surgery, which I think is probably the hardest obstacle. While I agree 16 pages sounds excessive, be glad your doctors are being thorough!

[cheryl2586 3,053]

I went to a psychiatrist and it was basically 15 minutes he only asked me if I was depressed, had ever thought about hurting myself, had ever been abused all appropriate for eating disorders. I dont know what that 10 page crap would be unless they wanted to see if your frustration level would go up due to so many questions lol

[happygirl65 5]

It is called the OMNI Personality Inventory test and I guess a lot of insurance companies require it, mine happens to be one of them. My surgeons office says that the purpose of the psych eval is to introduce us to the idea that there will be some mental aspects to major weight loss that will need to be addressed and to introduce us to a person who can help with that. (besides the insurance requirement) it also helps determine if you have any undiagnosed or untreated depression which a lot of obese people do, and get the ball rolling to help with that.

I went over the test with my husband asking him what he thought of some of the questions I considered odd, he said that how you answered those would definitely speak to your personality but more so would help define if you are fanatical about certain things and those "issues" tend to be things that set people off or they feel very strongly about. He thought it was a reasonable assessment even if it was very long.

The majority of the questions were obvious things like whether I have tried to kill myself etc and whether I fear being alone etc. it was just those odd ones that threw me off.

[allygator 1]

I'm a counseling student...not an expert by ANY means...but those types of questions are looking for stuff like personality disorders, schizophrenia, everything down to simple depression and anxiety. SO they try to cover the gamut of all psychiatric disorders to make sure you are stable enough to deal with the surgery and major changes it brings.

[TanyaSari 1]

I'm a counseling student...not an expert by ANY means...but those types of questions are looking for stuff like personality disorders, schizophrenia, everything down to simple depression and anxiety. SO they try to cover the gamut of all psychiatric disorders to make sure you are stable enough to deal with the surgery and major changes it brings.

I have a Master's Degree in Psychology. I can tell you that the MMPI-2 is a 567 True/False personality inventory. It does test to see if you have anything and a lot of time insurance companies require that you take this test. It is a pain in the butt. I took it and did disclose to the psychiatrist I have a BA and MA in Psychology and knew exactly what to look for. Since my insurance required it she told me to just do it.

Obviously I passed with flying colors.

It's one small step along the path to getting approved.

[Sun Rae 7]

I had to do the same thing and I even had to do all of that testing with the blocks. You know, copying the patterns that they showed me on a card. Finally, I just told the Doc, "I hope this is doing something for you, because I'm sure not getting anything out of it - not even a warm and fuzzy feeling." He tried to keep a straight face, but just started laughing.

[amberakamom 13]

Not sure how many pages mine was but it was 600+ questions. I got through it pretty quickly.