Healthy Connections
PrintA guide to better health from Backus
August 2010
Mental health a weighty issue for bariatric patients
People eat for a variety of reasons, and sometimes being hungry isn’t one of them.
They eat when they are depressed, when they are bored, in social settings and for a variety of other reasons.
But successful long-term weight-loss surgery requires major lifestyle changes — physically and mentally.
Thomas Dziadosz, PhD, of the Center for Mental Health at Backus, will meet with bariatric patients prior to their surgery for a psychological evaluation to determine if they are good candidates for weight loss surgery — and the com- mitments that come along with it.
“The psychological eval- uation covers a wide range of areas, including behavior, cognitive and emotional status, stressors in their life, what they expect from the surgery and more,” he said.
Dr. Dziadosz develops reports that identify barriers patients have and areas where they need more education, such as about the surgery itself or their expectations after surgery.