PSYCHOSOCIAL EXPERIENCES AND COUNSELING NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT THE BARIATRIC SURGERY PROCESS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Date

2026-8-14

Author

Alakabak, Neslihan

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Bariatric surgery is increasingly recognized as more than a medical intervention for weight loss, involving profound psychological, behavioral, and social changes throughout the process. Despite growing research, little is known about individuals' psychosocial experiences and counseling needs during this process, particularly in Türkiye. This study aimed to describe those experiences and needs. This study employed a qualitative descriptive inquiry design. Ten individuals, six women and four men, who had undergone bariatric surgery, were interviewed using purposive sampling. Data was analyzed through inductive qualitative content analysis. The findings showed that bariatric surgery was a complex psychosocial process extending beyond weight loss. Participants cited long-term physical and psychological burden, repeated failed weight-loss attempts, eating behavior difficulties, and weight-related stigma as factors driving their decision for surgery. The postoperative period involved significant physical, emotional, and behavioral adjustment, with inadequate psychological support. Over time, participants described reconstructing their relationship with food, developing greater self-regulation over their eating behaviors, building self-confidence, developing a more positive relationship with their bodies, and becoming more actively engaged in everyday life. In addition, gender emerged as one of the key motivations for surgery, recovery experiences, interpersonal relationships, and interpretations of change. The findings suggest that bariatric surgery should be understood as a complex psychosocial life transition rather than solely a medical intervention for weight loss. The study highlights the importance of integrating psychological counseling into multidisciplinary bariatric care and contributes to the limited qualitative literature on the psychosocial experiences of bariatric surgery

Subject Keywords

Bariatric surgery, Psychosocial experiences, Counseling needs, Qualitative content analysis, Obesity

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/120048

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis