Psychological Support
When people come to us for weight loss surgery they ask about the pre operative psychological evaluation. Why is that required.
It is not a screening examination -- no psychologist or psychiatrist can tell the future, and see if you have what it takes to undergo the band. Nor is it like a cardiac clearance -- where we ask a cardiologist, on some patients with heart issues, to help us improve their heart's performance for the operation.
We use the pre-operative psychological examination to make you aware of the tools out there to succeed. One of them is the psychological support. Our greatest support is in our groups that meet twice a month. Did you know that in the last year with the 20 support groups we had that Dr. Simpson was in 16 of them, and our nutritionist was in 18 of them.
Some people find that things in their lives change, and their relationship with food changes, and they want to talk with a professional about it. The pre operative examination allows you to be introduced to someone, and know that these resources are available.
One of our psychologists is a patient herself!