Pre-Surgical Bariatric Psychological Evaluations
In Office and Online
We’d like to introduce ourselves and welcome you to our office. Most patients who are considering a surgical treatment for their weight loss are asked to meet with a psychologist or counselor prior to surgery. Our office has specialized in this field since the surgical weight loss revolution began and has seen several thousand patients like yourself. It may be helpful for you to know that the vast majority are approved for surgery.
Many patients have never been to a psychologist or counselor before and are understandably, but needlessly, apprehensive. Some even feel angry that they are required to “convince one more professional” or “jump through one more hoop”.
Our approach to evaluation combines a clinical interview and assessment, with psychometric screening measures. Therefore, you should expect to meet with one of us personally to discuss your situation, your future or post-surgical plans and to fill out several questionnaires. The questionnaires measure body dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, alcohol dependence and the possible presence of eating disorders.
During the interview, you should expect to discuss the severity and duration of your obesity, past attempts to lose weight, your understanding of the potential complications of surgery and your understanding of the behavioral and dietary changes needed for success. You will be asked about your health, current medical concerns, your family medical history and your concerns about future complication of your obesity. You will also be asked about alcohol or drug usage which might complicate your success. Finally, we will explore your emotional readiness for surgery.
The entire assessment is usually accomplished within a 45 minute in office appointment (which includes completion of all psychological assessments and the clinical interview) and your surgeon can expect to receive our report the following day. This time frame is much shorter for online evaluations because all testing is completed in advance meaning you can expect the appointment to last 15-20 minutes. If Spanish is your principal language you can either be interviewed by a clinician who speaks Spanish or you can bring a friend or family member to help with interpretation. If you are interviewed in Spanish, please allow additional time for our report to reach your surgeon.
We are in network with most insurance policies so the cost of evaluation is usually limited to your regular co-payment. If you have a deductible or if we are out of network, you will be asked to pay our courtesy rate of $175. Many patients receive part or all of this back once we settle the claim with your insurance company.
It has been our experience that most patients leave the consultation glad that they had the opportunity to explore their choice, feeling supported and having learned something new. We sincerely hope that your experience is positive as well.
We offer appointments in one of our four offices as well as HIPAA compliant online evaluations.
For more information or to schedule an appointment please call.
Many patients have never been to a psychologist or counselor before and are understandably, but needlessly, apprehensive. Some even feel angry that they are required to “convince one more professional” or “jump through one more hoop”.
Our approach to evaluation combines a clinical interview and assessment, with psychometric screening measures. Therefore, you should expect to meet with one of us personally to discuss your situation, your future or post-surgical plans and to fill out several questionnaires. The questionnaires measure body dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, alcohol dependence and the possible presence of eating disorders.
During the interview, you should expect to discuss the severity and duration of your obesity, past attempts to lose weight, your understanding of the potential complications of surgery and your understanding of the behavioral and dietary changes needed for success. You will be asked about your health, current medical concerns, your family medical history and your concerns about future complication of your obesity. You will also be asked about alcohol or drug usage which might complicate your success. Finally, we will explore your emotional readiness for surgery.
The entire assessment is usually accomplished within a 45 minute in office appointment (which includes completion of all psychological assessments and the clinical interview) and your surgeon can expect to receive our report the following day. This time frame is much shorter for online evaluations because all testing is completed in advance meaning you can expect the appointment to last 15-20 minutes. If Spanish is your principal language you can either be interviewed by a clinician who speaks Spanish or you can bring a friend or family member to help with interpretation. If you are interviewed in Spanish, please allow additional time for our report to reach your surgeon.
We are in network with most insurance policies so the cost of evaluation is usually limited to your regular co-payment. If you have a deductible or if we are out of network, you will be asked to pay our courtesy rate of $175. Many patients receive part or all of this back once we settle the claim with your insurance company.
It has been our experience that most patients leave the consultation glad that they had the opportunity to explore their choice, feeling supported and having learned something new. We sincerely hope that your experience is positive as well.
We offer appointments in one of our four offices as well as HIPAA compliant online evaluations.
For more information or to schedule an appointment please call.