* Pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 43(c), Kenneth S. Apfel is substituted for

Shirley S. Chater, former Commissioner of Social Se curity, as the defendant in this action.

** This order and judgment is not binding precedent, e xcept under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and col lateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the citation of orders and judg ments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the terms and condi tions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

## F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 

### DEC 8 1997 

### PATRICK FISHER Clerk UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

LOU E. SEYMORE,

Plaintiff-Appellant, v. KENNETH S. APFEL, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, *

Defendant-Appellee. No. 97-5068 (D.C. No. 96-CV-178-M) (N.D. Okla.)

ORDER AND JUDGMENT **

Before KELLY, McKAY, and BRISCOE, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, th is panel has determined unanimously to grant the parties’ request for a dec ision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The c ase is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.2

Claimant Lou E. Seymore appeals from the district c ourt’s judgment affirming the Commissioner’s decision denying her c laim for disability insurance benefits at step five of the five-part pr ocess for determining disability,

see 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520. In what now stands as the f inal decision of the Commissioner, the administrative law judge determin ed that claimant had an adjustment disorder and depression, but no exertion al limitations, and that while she could not return to her past relevant work, she retained the functional capacity to perform the nonexertional requirements of work e xcept for work requiring more than minimal contact with the public or co-workers and work in a stressful environment. Relying on a vocational expert’s test imony, the ALJ found that there were janitorial and clerical jobs available that claimant could perform with these limitations and thus found her not to be disabled. We review the Commissioner’s decision to determine whether factua l findings are supported by substantial evidence and whether correct legal s tandards were applied. SeeWinfrey v. Chater , 92 F.3d 1017, 1019 (10th Cir. 1996). Claimant first contends that the ALJ erred by ignor ing an opinion by a nonexamining state agency psychologist, Dr. Boon. Claimant contends the ALJ must have ignored the opinion because he did not sp ecifically refer to it in his decision, which claimant contends is required by So cial Security Ruling 96-6p, 1996 WL 374180 (July 2, 1996). Although claimant c oncedes that the ALJ’s3

findings are consistent with most of Dr. Boon’s opi nion, she contends that the ALJ’s findings are inconsistent with the psychologi st’s opinion regarding her problems with maintaining attention and decompensat ing. On the Psychiatric Review Technique form Dr. Boon prepared, she indicated, without giving any basis for her opinion, that claimant had deficienci es in concentration, persistence or pace “often” and had episodes of decompensation or deterioration in work-like settings “once or twice.” On the PRT form the ALJ prepared, he rated the degree of limitation in these areas as “seldom” and “never ” respectively. Claimant does not contend that the ALJ’s findings are not support ed by substantial evidence, but contends that had the ALJ considered Dr. Boon’s opi nion, his findings might have been different. While it would have been preferable for the ALJ to have specifically addressed Dr. Boon’s opinion in his decision, we co nclude that given the complete lack of any reference to objective finding s, the failure to do so in this case is not reversible error. The ALJ’s decision s tates that he considered all evidence in the record even if not specifically cit ed in the decision, and the fact that his decision is consistent with most of Dr. Bo on’s opinion is some indication that he did consider her opinion. See Hamilton v. Secretary of Health & Human Servs. , 961 F.2d 1495, 1498-99 (10th Cir. 1992) (rejectin g contention that ALJ did not adequately consider nonmedical evidence of disabling pain; “[t]he ALJ4

stated that he considered all of the evidence; his reliance on medical findings does not allow us to assume otherwise”); Clifton v. Chat er , 79 F.3d 1007, 1009-1010 (10th Cir. 1996) (“The record must demonstrate thatthe ALJ considered all of the evidence, but an ALJ is not required to discuss eve ry piece of evidence.”). Claimant next contends that the ALJ ignored the opi nion of her treating therapists who rated her Global Assessment of Funct ioning (GAF) at 45, which she contends indicates “a mental impairment which, by definition, causes serious symptoms or a serious impairment in functioning of a type which seriously interfered with a person’s ability to keep a job.” Appellant’s Br. at 18. The GAF scale defines the range from 41 to 50 as follow s: “Serious symptoms (e.g., suicidal ideation, severe obsessional rituals, frequent shoplifting) OR any serious impairment in social, occupational, or school funct ioning (e.g., no friends, unable to keep a job).” Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 11 (b olding deleted). Contrary to claimant’s contention, a GAF rating of 45 may indic ate problems that do not necessarily relate to the ability to hold a job; th us, standing alone without further narrative explanation, the rating of 45 does not ev idence an impairment seriously interfering with claimant’s ability to work. As th e ALJ noted, none of the therapists who rated claimant’s GAF indicated that she could not work or that her problems interfered with her ability to keep a job. Thus, the ALJ did not improperly ignore relevant evidence from claimant’s treating therapists.5

Finally, claimant contends that the ALJ erred by fa iling to establish that claimant was able to perform work on a sustained ba sis consistent with competitive employment. This argument is based pri marily on claimant’s contentions we have rejected above regarding the AL J’s failure to properly consider Dr. Boon’s opinion and the GAF rating. Th e ALJ noted that claimant had been working sporadically, had been seeking work through her union, and was successfully attending school full time. This evidence supports the ALJ’s finding that claimant can work on a sustained basis

. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

Entered for the Court

Paul J. Kelly, Jr. Circuit Judge