Question:
Was wondering...
if anyone could tell me what to expect from my psych eval? It is this Friday, 10/11/02. I have never had one done and have NO CLUE what to expect. What exactly are they looking for? What do I need to know to be prepared? Any certain questions or tests I need to know about? Thanks for all the help AMOS! — chatterbox213704 (posted on October 7, 2002)
October 7, 2002
I would imagine all Psychologists are different, but with mine, he and I
talked for about 45 minutes and then he took me into a little room where I
took some written tests. Three or four of them. A couple were short, one
had 90 questions and the last one was 567 questions! very long, and some
really strange questions, but it was absolutely amazing what they learn
about you from the answers. The BEST and only thing to do is answer them
all HONESTLY and take your time with it. Don't rush through it. Then I met
with him a week later and we went over the results. I was amazed at how he
described me as a person and described my personality from my answers. You
don't have to prepare in any way. Just read carefully and answer honestly.
It will all come out just fine. Good luck in your journey.
— pjnick
October 7, 2002
The psych. will just ask you some basic background questions and may have
you do a questionnaire or two. He/she will look for any area that you may
struggle with post-op, such as...Are your expectations realistic? Do you
have a support system? How will you hanndle stress without food? etc.
Suffering from depression or another mental disorder does not exclude
someone from WLS unless you are delusional or psychotic. The important
part of the eval is to give your surgeon confirmation that you know what
your doing; are doing it for the right reasons (mainly health related, not
just to be a swimsuit model) and that you understand the potential risks,
lifestyle alterations, and that this is a tool, not a cure. I see a lot of
posts suggesting people want to "cover up" stuff or present a
certain way. All I can say is that most psychs (myself included) can see
through the BS! So, just be yourself....that is truly good enough! Best
wishes on your journey!
— Charree K.
October 7, 2002
I can only speak from my own experience with my initial psych evaluation,
which was extremely negative, but here's some advice: Don't offer too much
information. I discussed some things with the dr. (being raped, past
depression, etc.) that in retrospect I probably shouldn't have, because she
concluded that I wasn't ready for WLS...After that, I went to a psych
recommended by my WLS doc, and had no problems. (Of course this time I
adopted the "Everything is fine,
I-just-want-my-outsides-to-reflect-my-insides" stance, which is the
truth anyway.) I only WISH this inital doc had given me a test or been
more WLS friendly. I thought by showing that I was fully knowledgeable
about WLS and "opening up", that this would be the easiest part
of the whole process...WRONG! Anyway, don't lie, answer all questions
you're asked, but don't volunteer any info. Now, having said all that,
you're probably nervous...don't be! If you don't get the answers you
want/deserve, there's always a second opinion...Good luck.
— rebeccamayhew
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