Dawn O’Meally, LCSW-C. P.A.
Bariatric Psychologist
P: 443-590-0030
Dawn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker – licensed in the State of Maryland since 1986. Dawn owns a unique private practice called The Counseling Center for Change (CCFC) in Westminster, Maryland, with six licensed mental health therapists on her team of therapists.
Her team provides Telehealth Weight Loss Surgery pre-operative psych evaluations, pre and post-op counseling, and cognitive behavioral therapy psychoeducational group to Bariatric surgery patients. Dawn and her team work with Dr. Averbach and the other surgeons at Ascension St. Agnes as well as additional Bariatric Surgeons in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Illinois with the advent of Zoom and Telehealth.
Mental health providers that work with pre-op Bariatric surgery candidates usually only provide pre-op psych evaluations, but Dawn’s team of therapists offer whatever clinical services are needed by the patients they serve. CCFC also provides Bariatric Support Groups for St. Agnes Hospital and other programs via ZOOM which focus on mental and behavioral health issues common to Bariatric patients.
She and her therapists are thrilled to be a resource for Ascension St. Agnes Bariatric Surgery Program and love being part of the multidisciplinary team. Dawn believes that Bariatric Behavioral Health is a specialty within the field of Mental Health and the complex needs of Bariatric patients differ in numerous ways from that of a typical patient seeking help for obesity.
She has been working with Bariatric patients since 2005 when she attended the groundbreaking training on The Psychological Evaluation of the Bariatric Patient. From that point on, she developed a passion for helping Bariatric patients and collaborating on Bariatric Teams at various hospitals that provide Bariatric Surgery. Along with Nancy Lum, RD, Dawn is co-founder of STRIVE Motivational CBT Group Therapy, established in 2012, which focuses on nutrition, lifestyle, and behavior modification to attack the underlying, self-sabotaging habits and thinking that contribute to weight and poor physical/mental health.