Psych evaluation

[mommyjamie 83]

What should I expect? What about the meeting with the nutritionist?

[woo woo 872]

There will likely be a question and answer session along with a very long T/F test called the MMPI which is an assessment tool that psychologists use to look for any issues or areas of concern. There may also be a couple of other short assessment tests.

There are no right or wrong answers. Just be truthful. It's not a big deal, no worries!

Nut will likely start out with some basic information about fat/carbs/protein/fiber vs calories etc, then each visit will cover different stuff.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,358]

You should expect her/him to be professional. not judgmental. for yourself. You should be honest and explain what brought you to this place and what your expectations are.

Nut she will try to encourage you to eat 3 times a day because most of us don't do that that is why our metabolisms crashed. She will encourage you to eat healthier and log everything. Most people try to play the say the right thing ...you know the say what they want to hear game..Me i was dead honest and I think it was better for me and for her and actually she gave me far more attention then to others..Good attention....

Best to you on your new and amazing journey you are about to start!

[Scylla 106]

Here is my experience, re-posted from the post I made here the day of my evaluation:

The psych evaluation was...interesting! First I talked with the psychiatrist for about an hour about my history, what I expect from the surgery, etc. and she sort of quizzed me about possible problems with the surgery, what I would eat after the surgery, whether my friends and family are supportive, who I have told about the surgery, etc. Then I had to take five tests. One was a 15 question quiz about anxiety, one was a 15 question quiz about depression, one was a 15 question quiz about compulsive overeating, one was a short quiz on surgical expectations and one was a 344 (!) question psychiatric test where you had to answer questions on a sale of F - False, ST - Sometimes True, MT - Mostly true, AT - Almost Always True with questions like:

I feel that everyone is out to get me

I hear voices inside my head telling me to do things

I often wonder what it would be like to be dead

I have thought about how I might commit suicide

Things are not going very well in my family

I don't have any supportive friends

My drug use gets in the way of my daily life

I take advantage of people whenever I can to get what I want

I answered honestly and passed. One thing about the tests is that they ask the same question several times but worded differently, presumably trying to see if you are answering honestly/consistently. Good luck!

[Katcloudshepherd 630]

I was extrememly lucky in my psych eval. I saw the same counselor I had been seeing for over a year for work related issues. My work related issues have been resolved but I still see the counselor for my WLS counselor.

That True/False test is a trip. They asked the same question in several different ways. I answered honestly and found out I am a person who has difficulty with changes in their life. There is an official term for it but I can't remember it now.

My nutritionist gave me guidance on how to loose weight during the required doctor monitored weight loss period.

Good luck on your weight loss journey.

Blessings,

Kathleen

[smokenhaze 9]

The psych evaul is a very good thing. Don't be worried if its a pass or fail. The top thing is to be honest, if your not honest your not going to get the best care needed. I am bipolar and it was as must for me to be in stable mental condition. I have been in a very stable state for years now. The psychologist work with my physciarist, whom said mental I was prepared. If your not knowledgable the psychologist will recommend some video, or therapy in addition to you regularly scheduled meeting with the nut and doctor and who ever else. They want to make sure you have the mental strength/knowledge to succeed and thats probably why you need the eval.

If you don't feel comfortable ask for someone else if possible. Its always better to be honest with someone you feel like talking to.

[Margie14 31]

Here is the mmpi2 test I think everyone has to take...

http://geisel.narod.ru/mmpi2.htm

They can tell if you lie by the inconsistency of your answers. They can tell if you have other issues as well. You also can't come across as too perfect as according to all psychologists, we all have issues. There are also online evaluators to help you somewhat understand your score. I don't have a link to any of those but you can google them up.

This test takes about 2 hours. I stressed over the stupid thing for two weeks but evidently passed because the psychologist didn't call me back in to recommend further analysis. The main thing that will keep you from surgery is pre existing eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia. They are a definite "no go".

Anywho, my family took it online just for fun. The scoring is kept as an average of the answers of a control population. It's very indicative of a test that can be misinterpreted easily. For instance if you are very religious you can score high on the lie scale because everyone lies according to the chosen test population and if you say you don't on so many questions it gives you a higher than normal average. That is why they have to talk to you ahead of time to get a feel for the type of person you are. Whatever you do, don't say one thing to the shrink and another on the test. Just be yourself and don't let the test trip you up. I obsessed over it to the point I researched the heck out of it and I passed, I think? At least I got approval for surgery!

I hope this helps.

[jdmama911 224]

Psych eval, was 2 looong tests for me. Same as everyone else. I was told I'm extremely passive aggressive (really?? Who would have thought?? Lol) But, I had a dot down with the psychologist a week after the test, he told me the results and basically asked about my support, game plan, and expectations of the surgery.

As for the NUT appointment. It can be very intimidating meeting with a stick thin woman to go over your eating habits. My NUT had me keep a food journal and started me on a 1200 calorie diet. My first instinct was to not write down any mistakes on my food journal. But I did, and for me it worked out excellently. My mistakes led to better education with my NUT. She learned my downfalls, and taught me what to do about them. I am so grateful that I decided to be honest with her. I have a better understanding of nutrition from my time with her. At my center, we had to have at least 3 visits (up to the NUT if more was needed) with the nutritionist and had to drop 15lbs before being cleared by the NUT for surgery.

As this is a new starting point, I encourage you to be as open and honest about your emotional and eating habits. It's hard to admit those things, but you can't truly heal from those mistakes until you allow yourself to get help.

I wish you the best of luck:)

[liveyourdreams85 0]

I have my psych evaluation on Feb. 24th and im so nervous because I have a history of self harm! my surgeon knows about this and he even said don't get stressed out because they basically want to see how your doing now etc. Im just afraid that im so nervous that im going to fail, ONLY because im nervous!!

[survivingsleever 33]

I just had mine yesterday. It lasted around a hour. Consisted of 30 min talking about my support system, eating habits, failed diets, and she reiterated the surgery being a lifestyle change. I also took an 165 true/false question test towards the end.

Fairly simple. I made sure I was honest and consistent about my responses. FYI, a lot of repetitive questions. Good luck!

[Justicenga 31]

I had my psych the other day. It was no big deal. He asked about my family, career, reason for surgery, and support system. He also asked about any past or present issues related to mental health. It lasted about 40 minutes. No t/f or other assessments for me.

[SuperFab 689]

Here is the mmpi2 test I think everyone has to take... http://geisel.narod.ru/mmpi2.htm They can tell if you lie by the inconsistency of your answers. They can tell if you have other issues as well. You also can't come across as too perfect as according to all psychologists, we all have issues. There are also online evaluators to help you somewhat understand your score. I don't have a link to any of those but you can google them up. This test takes about 2 hours. I stressed over the stupid thing for two weeks but evidently passed because the psychologist didn't call me back in to recommend further analysis. The main thing that will keep you from surgery is pre existing eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia. They are a definite "no go". Anywho, my family took it online just for fun. The scoring is kept as an average of the answers of a control population. It's very indicative of a test that can be misinterpreted easily. For instance if you are very religious you can score high on the lie scale because everyone lies according to the chosen test population and if you say you don't on so many questions it gives you a higher than normal average. That is why they have to talk to you ahead of time to get a feel for the type of person you are. Whatever you do, don't say one thing to the shrink and another on the test. Just be yourself and don't let the test trip you up. I obsessed over it to the point I researched the heck out of it and I passed, I think? At least I got approval for surgery! I hope this helps.

I didn't have to take that test. We just went over my psych history, which was a regular questionnaire that any doc might have you fill out and then talked for about an hour about my psych history, my bipolar disorder and my expectations, etc.