Bariatric Evaluations & Obesity Support
What We Do: At Ahwahtukee Behavioral Health & Wellness, we specialize in providing mental health treatments to individuals struggling with obesity and evaluations prior to gastric bypass surgeries. ABHW’s psychiatric nurse practitioner, Ms. Sanchez, is an experienced health care professional who is passionate about providing compassionate, personalized, evidence-based care to patients struggling with weight-related issues.
Bariatric Evaluations Prior to Gastric Bypass Surgery: Ms. Sanchez provides psychiatric evaluations prior to gastric bypass surgeries. Assessments typically focus on the emotional and psychiatric status of the patient prior to surgery.
Ongoing Treatment and Support: Frequently, a bariatric evaluation is a first step in a therapeutic relationship that aims to ensure that the patient acclimates to the change in lifestyle. Ms. Sanchez offers and encourages follow-up appointments, where she provides support over the timeline of physical and emotional change. Providing therapeutic support at a time when the physical body is healing and changing aids in self-discovery and positions the patient for long-term success. Among other things, Ms. Sanchez focuses on helping patients navigate the realities of their experience, how those realities may have differed from their pre-surgery expectations, and ensuring the long-term success of treatments and procedures that patient has underwent . Some areas of common focus for Ms. Sanchez and her patients include:
- Relationship with food
- Emotions that may have previously been stabilized by food, including depression, anxiety, and mood swings
- Unrealistic expectations of self
- Relationships with others as the body changes
- Underlying issues of childhood
- Trauma issues
If you are struggling with weight-related issues or are considering bariatric surgery, contact us today at 1-480-272-8450.
