Case Study
Patient Demographic: Client Age: 19 Sex: Male Gender: Male Sexuality: Heterosexual Ethnicity: Caucasian Relationship Status: Single Counseling Setting: Private Practice Type of Counseling: Individual Presenting Problem: Suicidality related to body image Diagnosis: Body Dysmorphic Disorder 300.7 (F45.22), with absent insight/delusional beliefs
Mental Status Exam: Mental Status Exam: The client’s mood is sad and irritable. His speech is pressured when discussing his appearance but is otherwise normal. He is appropriately groomed and wears a beanie covering his ears. He admits to repetitively dissecting his face in the mirror several hours a day. The client offers that he cannot hide his ears with his hair because “it is too thin.” He denies audio/visual hallucinations. The client’s thought content is organized and coherent, but he shows poor insight and delusional thinking about how he and others regard his appearance. The client avoids social settings and reports that sometimes, an entire week goes by where he doesn’t leave the house. He denies suicidality and currently does not have a plan or intent to harm himself or others. Appetite and sleep are fair. The client denies drug use and states he consumes alcohol occasionally. You provide an in-depth suicide assessment, and you and the client work together to create a suicide safety
Presenting Problem: You are working in private practice and conducting an initial intake session with a 19-year-old male who presents today with his mother. The client was recently admitted to a psychiatric hospital for suicidality and was discharged four days ago. His mother reports that the client tried to commit suicide by overdosing. The client reports feeling increasingly hopeless following a “failed” cosmetic surgery procedure. He explains that he had an otoplasty performed to change the proportion and position of his ears. He states he has always hated his ears and is convinced people are staring and laughing at his “deformity.” His mother reports that she reluctantly consented to the surgery a year and a half ago, despite believing it was unnecessary. The client does not leave the house without wearing a beanie or hoodie. He has completed high school with no interest in attending college. He is unemployed due to shame and embarrassment over his “defective” appearance. Two weeks ago, the hospital psychiatrist changed his medication and placed him on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).
Other Contexts:     plan. Family History: The client’s parents are divorced and he lives with his mother and two younger siblings. There is a history of child protective services (CPS) involvement due to reports of domestic violence between his parents. The client witnessed these incidents between that ages of 10 and 12. His parents subsequently divorced and the client has had minimal contact with this father since. The client’s maternal aunt is diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. His mother previously attended therapy for anxiety and other trauma-related symptoms. The client began experiencing symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder at age 13, with symptoms worsening after starting high school

Question: Which of the client’s following symptoms is NOT listed as a DSM-5-TR diagnostic criterion for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)?
(A): Occupational distress and impairment primarily due to BDD symptoms
(B): Repetitive mirror checking in response to appearance concerns
(C): Self-oriented perfectionism regarding performance, appearance, and routine
(D): Appearance-related preoccupation with flaws that others don’t see

Correct Answer: Self-oriented perfectionism regarding performance, appearance, and routine
Explanation: Of the symptoms listed, self-oriented perfectionism regarding performance, appearance, and routine is not a diagnostic criterion of body dysmorphic disorder. Instead, this rigid perfectionism is a pathological personality trait associated with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. While there is an element of perfectionism with BDD, it is limited to one’s appearance rather than an aspect of extreme conscientiousness, which insists that all things must be perfect. According to the DSM-5-TR, the diagnostic criteria for BDD include “A. Preoccupation with one or more perceived defects or flaws in physical appearance that are not observable or appear slight to others. B. At some point during the course of the disorder, the individual has performed repetitive behaviors (eg, mirror checking, excessive grooming, skin picking, reassurance seeking) or mental acts (eg, comparing his or her appearance with that of others) in response to the appearance concerns. C The preoccupation causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. D The appearance preoccupation is not better explained by concerns with body fat or weight in an individual whose symptoms meet diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder (APA, 2022)”. Therefore, the correct answer is (B)
Competency: intake, assessment, and diagnosis