Bariatric Wellness Psychology
I know the decision to seek bariatric surgery is not an easy one. A Psychologist can be an important part of your bariatric wellness team, helping you prepare for a successful surgery and recovery, and for a new and better relationship with food and your body as you move forward.
I offer convenient presurgical evaluations as well as pre and post-surgical support designed to ensure your success with bariatric surgery and beyond.
Pre-Surgical Evaluation
The evaluation consists of an online questionnaire followed by a 1-hour telehealth interview. My goal is to make your pre-surgical psychological evaluation a helpful part of your experience, not just a requirement.
When you reach out for an evaluation I will send you a confidential questionnaire to complete, and we'll schedule a telehealth appointment for your interview. Following your interview, I'll send a report to your doctor within a week.
In addition to the report I send your doctor, if you would like, I will also send you a personalized Bariatric Wellness Recommendation offering you guidance to optimize your success from a psychological standpoint, based on the results of your evaluation.
The cost of this evaluation including the report to your doctor and your personalized Bariatric Wellness Recommendation is $300 and may be covered by your insurance.
I am currently in-network with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, CDPHP, Highmark/Blue Shield of Northeastern New York, Aetna, Cigna, Oscar Health, Oxford, and United Healthcare.
Contact me at 518-290-6706 or email [email protected] to get the ball rolling.
Pre-Surgical Support and Support in Decision Making
Perhaps you're still not sure you want to have surgery. Maybe you feel like you've tried everything and surgery is your only hope, but you remain ambivalent. I provide a safe, compassionate space to explore these concerns and consider all the alternatives. If you decide not to have surgery, I will support your commitment to health and wellness through a weight-neutral lens, offering behavioral and mindfulness-based strategies you may not have tried before, and helping you make peace with your body. And if you choose to have the surgery, I will support you in planning and preparing for success.
If you have already committed to having surgery, of course, I will provide the same support.
Post-Surgical Support
"My Doctor Operated on my Stomach, not my Head"
Those were the words my dad confided in me when he found himself continuing to struggle with his food and mood after his bariatric surgery. I have seen him, and many others struggle to sustain healthy lifestyle changes after surgery, battling both physical and emotional challenges. So I understand. and I'm personally committed to helping you get your head in the right place for success.
There are many ways psychology can help you have a successful surgery and recovery. Helping you maintain health-promoting lifestyle change, coping with stress without food, exploring changes in your body and your body image, managing changing emotions and relationships, coping with changes in the gut-brain connection, and even managing post-surgical discomfort are all ways psychological support can be helpful.
What You Should Know About Me
I believe we are all worthy of dignity and respect regardless of size, weight, or any physical characteristic, but our culture often treats people living in larger bodies like they're less worthy. I am passionate about reducing shame and stigma about weight, size, age, or appearance, but I also understand the realities of the challenges of living in a larger body - challenges that go beyond health and mobility concerns.
I also believe that we all should be supported in pursuing wellness on our own terms; no one knows your lived experience except you. Weight loss surgery is high-risk surgery with lifelong ramifications. When considering the risks, some people discover that they can experience healthful and fulfilling lives without pursuing weight loss surgery, or even weight loss, while others determine that the potential benefits of surgery are worth the risks. Whatever your choice, I respect and support you, and if you work with me, I will be committed to helping you achieve your definition of wellness and well-being!
Contact me at 518-290-6706 or email [email protected] for more information or to get started.