Pre-surgical Bariatric Psychological Evaluation FAQ

This depends on your insurance company and policy. The best way to find out is to call your insurance company and ask for a benefit check for psychological assessment services.

No, having depression and anxiety will not prevent you from getting the surgery, unless they are severe and untreated. Many individuals have depression and anxiety exasperated by their weight and their symptoms tend to reduce post-surgery. 

 Each evaluation includes an interview allowing the clinician to learn about one’s psychological and medical history, substance history, eating habits and behaviors, weight history, and knowledge about their type of bariatric surgery. The individual will then complete several self-report tests to aid in the clinician’s determination.   

Not at all. The clinician has no history of working with you and the best way to quickly learn about you in a short period of time is through the evaluation process. The clinician is not trying to prevent you from having the surgery, because they know the surgery is medically and psychologically beneficial for your health.  

 Bring your ID and insurance card as you may need to fill out paperwork prior to the evaluation. We recommend you bring something to drink and a snack.

The clinician will have the results in a week, but may schedule a session to meet with you to discuss the results and recommendations.  

Yes! We specialize in changing eating habits that are specific to the bariatric surgery. You can meet with a clinician prior to surgery to make eating behavioral changes that resemble the eating pattern after surgery. Most people find it reduces their anxiety about how they will sustain good eating habits after surgery.  

Binge eating will not stop you from having the surgery, but it may cause a delay on when you can be cleared for surgery from a psychological perspective. Binge eating may happen after surgery, so it is good to learn how to change binge eating patterns. A binge episode may be limited after surgery due to the physical restrictions of the stomach, but can still have a negative impact on post-surgical weight loss. We specialize on treating binge eating and making the necessary changes to get you moving forward on your path to the bariatric surgery.  

Yes! We specialize in helping people learn new eating habits and strategies to lose weight. Learning a new way of eating is one of the hardest things to do since our eating habits are engrained into our lifestyle. Changing one’s way of eating means changing their lifestyle, which is much different than a diet. This is why many diet fads do not work, because they are not sustainable to someone’s lifestyle. Diet fads are short term solutions, which then leads to weight gain after stopping the diet thereby leading to feelings of frustration and defeat. Lifestyle changes include learning new ways to eat on-the-go, fast food, cooking at home, meal planning, meal prepping, items to keep in the house, navigating menus, attending events with a buffet of food, with family and friends, etc. 

We are working on creating a bariatric support group.