ABSTRACT
As has been widely recognized in the media, overweight and obesity have become increasingly important public health concerns, and the majority of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. The psychopathological contraindications to bariatric surgery remain controversial. Part of this is attributable to the fact that as procedures have been performed on a wider variety of patients it has become apparent that many patients with significant comorbid psychopathology or other cognitive abnormalities often do quite well with the surgery given the proper support and encouragement. Practices vary widely across bariatric surgery programs in terms of what is required or expected in terms of psychological assessment. Options vary from no requirements to a series of self-report questions asked as part of standard intake, either in written form or as part of the interview, through an in-depth psychosocial assessment by a mental health professional skilled in working with bariatric surgery patients, including psychological testing.
