psychiatric evaluation

I lucked out and got an appointment for my psychiatric evaluation on 2/14/12.  What kind of questions can I expect to be asked? Thanks

I was given a several page form to fill out.  It included weight history.  Body type of parents, siblings.  Lots of questions about how I feel about myself.  Food and eating issues.  I was asked to see if I understood the risks of the surgery.  Really nothing to worry about.

I think it varies among the professionals, but essentially it boils down to
the same thing...assessing your "readiness" for the change, if you have
underlying psych issues or depression that could be exacerbated,
do you have the support system you need to take on the surgery
and change etc.  It's nothing to worry about.  I think I filled out a short
questionnaire and then the Dr. sat and chatted with me for about
15 minutes.  I would not lose sleep over it.  Good luck!

Let us know how you made out. I go march 6. and of course i am asking and wondering the same thing lol What kind of questions will be asked..so def post something so i know :)

They can and do ask anything and everything, depending on the doc.

Mine actually required a full MMPI test and several sessions of counseling. At the time I thought it was overkill but now I see why they do it.

Mainly, a good psych doc is trying to assess your thoughts regarding the outcome of surgery and to ensure you are not looking for some magic bullet. They will also make sure you understand the very good possibility that you won't lose 100% of your excews weight, and also that you are aware of the rebound or "bounceback" phenomenon.

I seem to remember that a "successful" surgery according to my surgeons metrics would produce a loss of approx 70% of your excess weight, but don't quote me on that exact number.

Best of luck to you on your journey =)

Mine was a snap. Interview discussed procedure and lifestyle changes, then a questionaire similar to this one:


http://www.nwss-inc.com/docs/PsychQuiz.pdf

I go for mine on 2/16. I was given a 20 page questionnaire..They told me to expect to be in with the Dr. about an hr and that I would have something like a "test" afterwards...Hope yours goes well :)

 I am of the opinion that they need to do MORE pre psych counseling and also include some post.
This is a big thing to go through. It takes a lot of support.
Deb T.

I'm with you Deb.  We see the results on these boards almost every day of a post-op (new, old or in-between) who obviously did not get enough of a psych eval and/or counseling.

It seems like with the industry growing the way it is there would be some minimum testing/counseling required and standardized.  At the very least you would think that the "Centers of Excellence" , such as they are, would have developed objective guidelines and a required level of test results/counseling interaction. 

Some of the folks I've read here almost look like a lawsuit waiting to happen because their pre-op counseling was insufficient or just flat out faulty.