Poster Presentation ANZOS-ASLM-ICCR 2019

Benefits of psychological counselling post bariatric surgery. (#130)

Ashley M. Ristanto 1 , Marie L. Caltabiano 1
  1. Psychology, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QUEENSLAND, Australia

Aim: The effect of psychological counselling on wellbeing post Bariatric Surgery was examined in this study. It was hypothesized that a patient who attended 6 or more psychological counselling sessions would have an improved wellbeing score. Design: Participants were recruited via an online survey.  Method:  88 persons who had undergone bariatric surgery (gastric sleeve, roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding) responded to the survey, 39 of whom had undergone psychological counselling. The SF12  which assess physical and mental well-being was used. Results: The type of surgery the patient had undergone did not seem to have any influence on how many sessions were attended however attending six or more counselling sessions post-surgery was shown to be beneficial in increasing physical wellbeing in participants who had undergone Gastric Sleeve Surgery (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy). The Gastric Sleeve group (n = 52) revealed a significantly higher SF12 Physical Component  score for patients who attended more than 6 sessions of counselling (M = 51.26, SD = 4.71). Patients who had attended one to four counselling sessions showed improvement to their mental wellbeing SF12 score. The group who attended between one and four sessions (n = 23) was compared to those who had no sessions (n = 49) and analysed using an independent t test. The independent t test showed a significantly higher mental health component score (SF12 MCS) for the one to four session group (M = 49.02, SD = 6.12).  Conclusion: The combination of these findings suggest that more than 6 sessions of psychological counselling after Gastric sleeve surgery is beneficial to physical wellbeing scores while attending one to four psychological counselling sessions post-surgery benefits mental well-being scores