Hi,

My insurance, BSBC of Oklahoma, requires me to have a psych evaluation. I go to it in a couple days. What should I expect? I am nervous. I have already paid out of pocket for 6 months of nutritionist appointments. I am wondering if this will be covered or if I have to pay for this out of pocket as well? This is my last hurdle before I go for approval!!! Help!!!

Misty :thumbup:

I have BCBS California HMO.

For me it was a 20 minute chat about what I understand the surgery to be, as in what they were going to do, and what my expectations were.

Also my medical and mental history were talked about. It was really not a big deal. A history of mental illness, or even ongoing depression (if being treated) will not disqualify you.

I have seen some on here who did a questionaire, so it does vary some.

Insurance paid for my visit. That is not always the case.

I had 15-20 minute telephone conversation with some Psych person. Basically she asked me what I thought would happen with the surgery, what are the risks, history of mental issues or depression, etc. General stuff. Personally I think Jeffrey Dahlmer could have passed my Psych eval.

As Cocoabean said, I think each Doctor / Insurance / plan does it different.

BUT I seriously think, unless you are Jeff Dahlmer or the Unabomber you will probably pass easily. Nothing to worry about.

-Brian

The psych eval is nothing to be nervous about. I had a 20 minute chat about the surgery and my expectations/how to deal with stress/ any worries I have (I talked about worrying about finding time to exercise, for example). Then I took a paper and pencil test.

The psychologist is not looking for reasons to deny you-- I promise (I'm a psychologist). They are just making sure you don't have some really serious issues that would make the risk of the surgery not worth it, and they are there to give you some feedback about how to cope with changes or problem solve for any fears you might have. I think the worst thing you could do is get nervous and try to fake perfection-- it's not expected, or believed :thumbup:

I had a similar experience to most above me. My psych eval lady was also a nutritionist so I had both chats in one session. Took about 40 minutes total. She wanted to know my parents, siblings, and my own medical history, my mental health history, and then we talked about the surgery, it's risks, and what I knew about it.

I was very nervous about it because I'm not a big fan of psychologists and such but it was very easy and as soon as I relaxed, it was like chatting with anyone.

My evaluation was a breeze. It lasted about 30-45 minutes. He gave me 2 short multiple-choice tests and then discussed the questions and answers afterwards. He also went over the WLS in general what to expect, if I understood it and the decision I was making and if I was prepared for the life change that comes hand in hand with the band. I also got to look at the ink blot pictures and tell what I saw

The psychologist my physician office uses is in house; so it was covered. If you have questions, your billing person or insurance rep can verify your benefits.

no big deal here either. chatted for about 20 minutes with the psychiatrist about why I eat and understanding the changes... then I had to take a personality test- that took a while as it was about 300 true/false questions, but they said I wasn't crazy and let me have the surgery!!! They know so little... muahahahahahahahaha

Hi,

My insurance, BSBC of Oklahoma, requires me to have a psych evaluation. I go to it in a couple days. What should I expect? I am nervous. I have already paid out of pocket for 6 months of nutritionist appointments. I am wondering if this will be covered or if I have to pay for this out of pocket as well? This is my last hurdle before I go for approval!!! Help!!!

Misty :wub:

I had a series of True/False questions There were 2 tests one was 200 questions and 1 was 3 hundred questions. They were done on computer. Once I finished these tests they printed them out. ABout 10 minutes later I met with the Psych Dr. He was very nice and put me at ease very quickly. He wants to hear from you making sure you know the details of what will be done during surgery. He also wants to know you expectations for surgery. Basically they are looking for any unrealistic expectations example..You want to lose weight to save you marriage etc.. There are no right or wrong questions on the tests that I took. Some of the questions will have you cracking up. I stressed about the exam too, I think that is just normal. The entire process for me took 3 hours. I have BC/BS also...Best of luck to you.

Thank you all so much for replying!!! It was a great help and it eased my nervousness/fears.

I went and had to take 4 tests and meet with the psychologist. In all I was there for 2 1/2 hours! He did say that I seemed like a great canidate for the surgery and he gave me two thumbs up! :smile:

The downside was that my insurance didn't pay for that either. It requires 6 months of nutritionist appointments and the pysch eval. but didn't cover any of it. My psych eval cost $276.00!!! I am hoping that soon the out of pocket costs will be over.

Thank you all again! Now on to waiting for insurance approval. :thumbup: