Research teams have argued that some bariatric patients require psychological input pre- and post-surgery and that weight loss surgery should only be undertaken by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) that can provide psychological support. To date, no guidelines exist for the provision of psychological support pre- and post-bariatric surgery. The authors were approached by British Obesity Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) in September 2017 to produce guidelines for the provision of psychological support for patients pre- and post-bariatric surgery. These guidelines were developed using seven stages: (a) review of evidence base; (b) expert input; (c) feedback from BOMSS delegates; (d) feedback from the special interest group; (e) service user feedback; (f) presentation to BOMSS council; and (g) presentation to the Association for the Study of Obesity. The guidelines describe two stepped care service models for the delivery of psychological support pre-surgery and 6 to 9 months post-surgery involving online resources, group workshops and one-to-one with a clinical psychologist. They are founded upon the following principles: (a) a living document to be modified over time; (b) flexible and pragmatic; (c) advisory not prescriptive; (d) broad based content; (e) skills based delivery. These guidelines are feasible for use across all services and should minimize patient risk and maximize patient health outcomes.
Keywords: bariatric; guidelines; obesity; psychological support; surgery.
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