A pre-surgery psychological evaluation is often a requirement before Bariatric surgery, commonly known as weight loss surgery. A common fear is that this evaluation is required because your doctor thinks you are “crazy”. This is not the case. The decision to pursue weight loss surgery is deeply personal, and a psychological evaluation is there to minimize mental health complications after the surgery. Ensuring you are mentally healthy to recover from such a surgery is one of the many ways doctors keep Bariatric surgery safe. A psychological evaluation is usually done by a mental health professional, such as a licensed therapist. Many therapists offer post-surgery therapy sessions as well to help clients cope with any of their thoughts and emotions post-surgery.
Weight Loss History
Your therapist will ask you about any previous attempts to lose weight, why they failed, and how you feel about those attempts. They will also seek to understand your current and past behaviors related to eating and exercising. Understanding your behavioral patterns around weight loss, dieting, and nutrition will help create an effective post-surgery plan that ensures a healthy recovery and maintained weight loss.
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Mental Health History
A primary job of a therapist conducting a Bariatric Psycholgical Evaluation is to ensure you are not at risk for self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders, as these are mental health conditions that can create risk of physical harm after a surgery. If these disorders are present, your therapist may recommend addressing them before the surgery.
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Past Trauma
Childhood experiences and traumatic events may also influence how you heal from Bariatric surgery. Weight loss surgery can be a deeply personal and emotional experience, and it may trigger some unwanted memories or trauma responses. A weight loss therapist’s job is to ensure that you have a safety plan and know how to deal with these emotional experiences when they arise.
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Drug and Alcohol Use
Getting Bariatric surgery while using unauthorized substances can be dangerous. It is recommended to avoid alcohol completely after Bariatric surgery until completely healed, a process that can take up to 6 months. An alcohol or drug dependence will make this process incredibly difficult and potentially result in binge drinking, which is physically unsafe for someone recovering from bariatric surgery.
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Other Medical Problems and Medications
A therapist will work with your nutritionist and doctor to provide a comprehensive list of other medications and medical problems that may create problems for healing from bariatric surgery. Being on medication for mental health or other medical problems does not prohibit you from weight loss surgery, but it is important to communicate all medications you are on during this evaluation.
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Social Support
Weight loss surgery is a big decision and healing from it can take a long time. Social support is not only a protective factor against most mental health issues, but it is also an important coping skill as you heal from surgery. Having social support to help you ride out the emotional highs and lows post-surgery and assist you with physical healing is crucial in successful weight loss surgery.
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We’ll match you with a provider that is trained to conduct evaluations and is knowledgeable about the Bariatric surgery process.
Bariatric Psych Evals can be done virtually over video counseling. All you need is a private space and stable wifi for our therapist to conduct the evaluation.
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There are a few reasons a therapist may recommend you wait on receiving bariatric surgery. This may include concerns surrounding your ability to cope with the emotional and lifestyle changes post-surgery or unrealistic expectations. You will not fail a psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery just because of these factors, but they are things that should be discussed with your medical team before proceeding with the surgery. Your therapist may not recommend bariatric surgery at all if you have uncontrolled or untreated psychiatric symptoms, have had suicide attempts or psychiatric symptoms in the past year, have a history of not following through with medical recommendations, or if you have active substance or alcohol abuse.
To increase your chances of passing a bariatric surgery psychological evaluation, it's important to be open and honest during the assessment. Address any mental health issues beforehand, demonstrate a willingness to commit to post-operative guidelines, and show a realistic understanding of the surgery's impact on your life. Do not lie on the psychological evaluation, as that can result in serious harm to yourself during and after the surgery.
During a psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery, you can expect to discuss your medical history, weight loss journey, emotional well-being, support system, and motivations for surgery. The evaluator will likely assess for any mental health conditions, coping strategies, and readiness for the procedure.
Following bariatric surgery, individuals may experience psychological challenges such as adjusting to new eating habits, body image concerns, relationship changes, and emotional fluctuations. It's important to have ongoing support from mental health professionals to navigate these issues and promote holistic well-being. Remember, taking care of your mental health is just as crucial as your physical health on the journey to a brighter and healthier life.
Yes. The therapists at Lifebulb offer continued post-surgery therapy to ensure good mental health as you recover and address underlying issues that may have played a role in weight gain. They can use therapeutic techniques to help you reframe beliefs regarding food, exercise, and the scale; as well as support behavioral/lifestyle changes needed for long-term maintenance of weight loss.
Look over our expansive list of carefully curated resources to learn about anxiety disorders and anxiety treatment.
