Psych Evaluation

Hi all!

My psych evaluation is Weds... What should I expect?? Not a clue since I have never been to one before...

Thanks!

Mine was more or less a 2 hour conversation about who I was. She did ask me a few questions to get me talking but it wasn't really all that much. She did ask if I have ever been depressed? wanted to know what I felt like contributed to my weight gain? She wanted to know if I was anxious about the surgery and I was honest with her and told her that I was. 

I think over all she was looking to make sure that I was mentally prepared for what was going to happen to me pre and post op.

I will say that I am a naturally talkative person so it seemed more of a conversation for me. Also the lady who did mine was a former VSG patient herself .

Have Fun and Good Luck!

 

Mine lasted about 30 minutes, it was weird.  But he just asked me a bunch of questions about me, probably trying to establish why I gained weight, that I don't have an eating disorder or perhaps addictions.  I think they worry that we won't be able to handle the changes.  And, if we have a possibility of an addiction transfer.  Meaning, some people (I heard) turn to alcohol when they can no longer turn to food for comfort.  Or maybe they want to make sure we have realistic expectations when it comes to this surgery.  And that we're aware that this isn't a magic pill, and we will need to work at getting fit.

I can't say it was a pleasant experience.  I was pretty emotional and the guy seemed kind of icy.  He took a lot of notes. 

Mine was also just a long chat about my weight, my family, my feelings, etc. I was very honest with her and she was very easy to talk to. Just relax and be honest.

Mine was just about an hour long and it was just a quick conversation about expectations and little about myself.  I revealed that I tended to be a perfectionist about things and she mentioned that is actually a form of ADD.  She pointed out one piece of information that has served me well and would serve anyone well.  I will never forget this thing she said.

"Some day down the road you will be at a celebration, a birthday or special anniversary.  You will want to have a piece of cake or pie or some such thing that you know you really shouldn't.  Go ahead.  Have it and then forgive yourself and move on.  It isn't going to hurt you to make a rare indulgence.  As long as you are ultimately making good choices both before hand and afterwards as well."

I know that for some people you would say that taking that first bite is a slippery slope and that it can lead to another and cause a rare situation to become more common until you are into old habits.  The thing is that you have to realize all the work you did before hand and all of the work you will need to continue on past that moment.  Some people can do it and some people can't.  Based on the conversation I had she felt I could handle the rare misstep.  The perfectionist part of me won't allow me to go down any bad paths and I actually have a very strong will.  I actually am not much of a desert person so that rare "slip" for me is OK.  

But it was the conversation that I had with the psychologist that led to this realization.  She could tell based on our conversation that I would beat myself up over such a slip and that I needed to get past it and realize I would do fine just moving on.  She was right.  I have slipped once and moved on.  No big deal and during that week I still lost weight despite having a small slice of cake.  Sure I might have lost one more pound had I not done it but overall I still resulted in a loss and have actually been in maintenance for about 2 months now.

Anyway, even though I rambled on the point is that the psychologist is just going to talk with you and get to know you and give you some advice on getting through the process.  No big deal at all.  I actually really enjoyed the chat.

I had mine today.  Was kinda weird, but seemed like they wanted to make sure I didn't have some crazy condition that could cause issues down the road.  I only have one more check up with my pcp for the diet/exercise plan on the 14th, then it is off to insurance for approval.  Got my fingers crossed for a Jan Sleeve.

 

My evaluation lasted 90 minutes. I took multiple choice and true false tests which took 45 minutes. I spoke with the psychologist for  the other 45 minutes. She asked questions about the surgery to make sure I knew what I was doing, etc. 

Mine was like Debbie's. I had at least 5 different quizzes to take and then we just sat and talked.

Then I took a very interesting test on his computer that involved 4 decks of cards and choosing cards from one deck as opposed to the others. When he was reading the results of the test he told me I was extremely NON-observant. Boy, did he hit the nail on the head. He talked to me about how I must become more observant about what I am eating and what I eat over the course of a day.

 

My first time with a psych was when I had my band.  I had a bunch of questions to answer on a sheet of paper.  Today, I had my first appt with a new psych.  This appt lasted a little over an hour.  She asked a bunch of questions about my home life, my childhood and some questions relating to food issues.  That was that.

From the list of evaluators presented to me I just happened to choose one who is a counselor to those losing weight, through surgery or otherwise.  After she gathered some information, we just talked about different things in my past and my presnt and different things about the surgery and caring for myself in other ways as well.  It was a very relaxed and helpful hour-and-twenty, and I left with some good information and resources to use preop and postop. 

When my husband and I and our grandson underwent court-ordered psych evals related to our custody fight, that evaluator used both discussion and the fill-in-the-circle agree-or-disagree thinger for us two adults.  That was an eye-opener.

I hope yours went well!