Psych eval

[time2live4me 6]

Hi everyone,

I am new here. Thankfully my insurance isn't requiring a bunch of hoops to jump through. So far I have had my initial visit with my surgeon, my at home sleep test, initial visit with nutritionist. Tomorrow I have my first psych eval. The office told me sometimes the psychologist only request one visit and sometimes two. I am just curious as to what to expect from this eval? I mean is it just a routine question/answer counseling type thing or is it "deeper" than that? You know like what does this ink blot look like or when I say a word tell me what you think of?? I just haven't seen any forums on this part of the process, so just wondering if I am thinking about it too hard! I also have an EKG scheduled tomorrow. My nutrition class is Thursday and on the 10th I have the endoscopy. Moving right along! All my insurance requires is 40+ BMI for 5 years and I had no problem providing that info.

Thanks for any input y'all might have!

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

The psych eval for me was fairly basic. You may be asked to do a standard psych assessment (usually a series of multiple choice questions) and a discussion. They just want to make sure you know what you are getting into, are capable of understanding and have the capacity to make decisions for yourself. They may also identify any challenges you may have that might be a barrier to success. If you are asked to follow-up it's not a punishment, it's to help better equip you to be successful.

[SweetPotato 142]

Depends on who your psych is. Mine consisted of a few assessments (questions with Likert-like scale answers) and an interview about my eating, substance/alcohol use, family relationships, stress, support system, understanding of surgery, pre-op diet, etc. Because i regularly see a therapist, they also asked if they could talk to them about my level of preparedness for surgery. I'm a therapist, too... so i had no problem doing that and having a convo with my therapist about what my boundaries were.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Mine was pretty basic. No deep therapy just a bit of info about family history and your views/hopes for this surgery. They are trying to discern if you have realistic expectations and coping skills. Mine was fairly conversational. We just chatted for an hour.

[time2live4me 6]

Thanks you 3! I appreciate the input. I am a pro-counseling person myself so I think it is great that evals are done! Hope to have a surgery date soon. Would love to find a buddy to chat with.

Edited November 30, 2015 by time2live4me

[animallover1247 249]

I've read many posts on the psych evaluatipn. I finally had mine a few weeks ago. A couple of things: 1) If you are seeing a psychiatrist, you will likely only have an interview. If you have to see a psychologist, you are likely to have an interview and psychological testing. A psychologist typically uses the MMPI. 2) Regardless of which professional you see, there's no way to predict what they will ask because they are all different. There are some questions I think should be reqired such as past addictions, trauma, support systems, etc. I had a bizarre evaluation with a psychiatrist who was morbidly obese herself. I posted my experience on BP. Overall I think people stress too much about it. Good luck.