What to expect for my psych evaluation...

 I'm having my psych evaluation in a couple of weeks, and wondering what to expect? It's not like normal therapy sessions since it's a one-shot deal, do what do you do? Thanks for your insight!

Just answer the questions truthfully!   It's done to make sure you are ready and prepared for this huge change in your life ...

I had to fill in a huge questionnaire and then he followed up with a 30 minute (or so) chat - for me it was all very relaxed and non-threatening - definitely not anything to be worried about!

 Thanks! It's actually the first time that I'm NOT nervous talking to a therapist! LOL

Some therapists have you complete the MMPI, a long questionaire that you complete either on paper or on a computer.  Others will just talk with you and ask you questions.  I took the MMPI on a computer and then had a follow-up to go over the results.  I agree that you should anser all questions truthfully so any issues that you might have prior to surgery can be detected and delt with appropriately.

 Mine was pretty easy.  It was about 2 hours long.  The first hour is taking the test on the computer.  My psychiatrist  has us do a test geared towards bypass patients so it's not the normal MMPI test.  It's less than 200 questions.  Then we do a mini-test of about 10 questions asking how we felt in general.

The results of the tests are printed out and then we actually see the psych.  All I can say is answer honestly but don't give away too much information as I found that she would try to twist what I was saying a little so I would constantly be correcting her. There were a lot of  "No I didn't say that.."   But it was painless.

Good luck!

 it just really depends on the therapist, but in general - - be forthcoming, address the realistic concerns you have & how you'll deal with them, talk about the support system you have in place, and be open to suggestions. Good luck!