What's up with the Psychologist appt????

[wintobethin 5]

I have been approved by my surgery clinic. Have appt. with my nutritionist next week, have already attended support group meeting (required) now just waiting for my appt. with the psychologist, why do we see them. What kind of questions do they ask. Do they try and talk you out of the lap band???? The receptionist told me it was a 2 hour appt. For what?????

[jazie 0]

I talked to the psychologist for maybe 15 minutes. The rest was answering questions on paper. I think he was looking to see if maybe I wanted the band for the wrong reasons. I am not sure what they would be but maybe to see if you are stable enough to make your own decision about having the surgery. Anyway, all went well and I now am banded.

jazie

[RestlessMonkey 7]

My psych eval was similar to Jazie's....over 300 questions from the MMPI test and then a quick chat. Wanted to know if I drank, did drugs, gambled, etc. I was just honest with ALL questions (that MMPI will trip you up if you try to hedge or fudge a little) and passed easily.

Best advice is to be honest and not worry about it!

[lovegrapes 0]

The psychological exam is an important step twards bariatric surgery. It is used to gauge your mental preparedness for surgery. If the mental health professional finds some type of issue during the exam contingencies may be placed on your surgery. For instance, people who have untreated depression or serious addiction issues they may need to go on medication and/or have counseling/treatment.

My appointment started with taking two long tests. I met with the psychologist for about 30 minutes and he asked about my weight, my partners weight, my family's weight and how proactive I was about my eye, dental and physical health.

It's really no big deal unless you have some serious psychological issues.

[Jodi_620 37]

This surgery is not for everyone. From time to time I see people come here who seem to not have a clue about how the band works and it is obvious that they were not ready for the surgery. If your surgeon has a good psych, they should be able to determine that you understand and are ready. Many insurance companies require this before they will pay and in my opinion everyone should require it, no sense in letting you go through surgery if you are not able to understand the process, give up your old ways and deal with eating less and giving up some things forever.

I had to meet with mine twice. The first visit was scheduled for three hours to take the MMPI tests. There were over 900 questions, you fill in the little dots with yes or no answers to questions like "I love my mother", "I want to be a fireman" and "I have never told a lie". You answer the questions honestly and they can evaluate your mental state and personality type according to your answers, they also can tell if you have lied and fail you.

The second visit was about an hour long and we discussed the test results first. She was able to describe my personality quite well based on my answers to the test. Then I took a little verbal pop quiz to make sure that I understood every aspect of the surgery and what I would need to do to make the band a success. We talked about my home life, my schedule, my diet, my concerns etc. She gave me some brochures on handling eating issues and stress and a journal to keep track of my food and exercise. I signed an agreement that if at any time during this process, my surgeon felt I needed counseling that I would seek it. And that was about it.

Edited October 15, 2008 by Jodi_620

[pattygreen 5]

these steps have to be done in order to have the surgery, so you do what you have to do in order to get to the end result. Personally, I can understand the 2 visits I had to have with the nutritionist, (although it could have been wrapped up in 1 visit) The 3rd visit with her in the auditorium with many other surgery patients was a repeat of everything she asked us to read and everything she already told us before) so that visit was a waste of time and money also. I can even understand the 1st visit with the psychologist to determine if you are suitable for the surgery, but at the second visit I took the written test( which took about ten minutes to fil out and could have been given to me while I was there on my first visit) So, all in all everything that was done and talked about in those 5 visits could have been done in 1 or maybe even 2 visits. (but then where would they make their money?) When I left, the psychologist handed me a CD to listen to and it was a bunch of visualization and meditation crap. I'm not into that, so I just tossed it.

[SillyGoose 0]

My Psych appointment consisted of a several questions and a 30-45 minute chat with the Psych. He immediately tried to explain why he thought this step in our weight loss surgery was mandatory. He thought, just like anything else, someone, somewhere had WLS and then sued their doctor because the outcome was bad emotionally for them. Makes since really.

During my appointment, he simply talked to me and wanted to determine that (from my paperwork) the little bit of depression and difficulty sleeping I have was caused from being overweight and not some other major underlying issue. I guess those were the only things that were questionable from looking at all my answers. I also answered a lot of his questions about lap band, because until recently, Kaiser only did the GB.

Good luck on your appointment - I hope it goes well.

[L12 13]

My psych eval was a breeze, actually kind of enjoyable. The psychologist was really warm and friendly, and although she asked me questions, she made it feel more like a nice little chat. She asked me about my family, growing up, my husband and friends, my job and what I like to do, previous attempts at weight loss, how my current weight affects me, things like that. We talked for about an hour, then I completed a couple of questionairres; one form that required about 10 written responses (I don't remember all of them, but one asked what my favorite foods were, and another asked what food would be hardest to give up), and another form where I rated how I felt about several statements (re: depression, stress, confidence, energy level, sleep habits, basically how I was feeling at that time). At the end of everything, she wished me luck, said she thinks I'll do really well with the band and that I'll probably progress to surgery soon.

It sounds like everyone's psych eval is a bit different, but I hope yours goes as well as mine!

[Shamrockgirl60 1]

Gee I have a nice hour long chat with questions and no "test" After that we had group meeting with the shrink to help us understand just what the lap band was and how to use it and how to eat properly and think about what we are doing.

I don't know if they refuse people but I am sure they have sometimes.

This is not a miracle. It's a tool.

[chicamam1 1]

I have been approved by my surgery clinic. Have appt. with my nutritionist next week, have already attended support group meeting (required) now just waiting for my appt. with the psychologist, why do we see them. What kind of questions do they ask. Do they try and talk you out of the lap band???? The receptionist told me it was a 2 hour appt. For what?????

my girl didnt try to talk me out of it. I think they make sure you are ready emotionally for the lifestyle change that comes with the band. My appt was questions about my life, then questions on my eating habits, etc... to ensure i was a good candidate.

[tomatogirl 0]

My psych appointment was a waste of time, he didn't care what I had to say- he talked to me for maybe 5 minutes then said, "Ok, well, I'll print and sign this and you can pick it up at the front desk." He wouldn't have cared if I told him that I was going to shave my head and run around naked in the snow.

[sil 0]

my psych test was oct,2 he sent in the mail about 20 questions. for me to fill out went to his office for about 15 minutes, paid him 150.00 an was aprove. even though he shock me when he held up a picture of himself. my doctor is his doctor he was a ryn patient 7 years ago. he looks great.

[TQUAD64 9]

I spent about 40 minutes with the pyscologist. He asked many questions regarding why I wanted the surgery and he if I did research on the surgery. He then had me complete 200 yes/no....true/false questions. Those questions were odd, but basically trying to determine if I could and if I would follow the surgeon's directions.

[Weas123 0]

I didn't have to go to a group meeting or anything, but I had to go to a psychiatrist... it was very routine and easy...

The questions were like: have you ever tried to kill yourself?, do you have disillusions about what the surgery will do for you?, have you ever had an eating disorder?, do you understand what the band is?, are you willing and able to follow directions with regards to the band?... so on and so forth.

(on a strange side note, my doctor spent about 30 of the 60 minutes showing me pictures of his car... strange)

The questions are very easy and they will not try to trick you or play mind games with you. It's a very easy step in the process.

Edited October 20, 2008 by Weas123
added questions I remembered he asked.

[BellaBean 0]

There was a thread on here that I found that was about 3 pages on people experiences. Might look that one up too.

Now for my eval. I went to the nutrition class and immediately after went to see the Psychologist. He asked me a whole 5 questions such as:

Who is your support?

Are you willing to change your life or this?

Are you depressed?

Have you ever/now suicidal?

How do you feel about this whole transformation?

I was in and out in 5 minutes! I have heard that some people had a much longer and intense appt. than I did on the forums.