Case Study
Patient Demographic: Client Age: 38 Sex: Male Gender: Male Sexuality: Heterosexual Ethnicity: Caucasian Relationship Status: Married Counseling Setting: Private Practice Type of Counseling: Individual Presenting Problem: Marital Difficulties Diagnosis: Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder 301.4 (F 60.5)
Mental Status Exam: Mental Status Exam: The client is meticulously dressed and immaculately groomed. He frequently checks his watch and states he has owned his watch since adolescence and it “still works like new.” His speech is even, and his affect is blunted. At times, he is defensive and attempts to talk over you. He exhibits poor insight into his marital problems and is excessively preoccupied with perfectionism, structure, and order. Fam
Presenting Problem: You are a counselor working in private practice and meeting your client for the first time today. The client is here at his wife’s insistence, who has threatened divorce if he does not seek and comply with therapy. The client explains that he is swamped at work and has already lost an hour of productivity traveling to your office. He discloses that he has been married just over four years and has a daughter who is 3½. The couple dated briefly and married when the client’s wife discovered she was pregnant. The client believes that if he didn’t leave his wife a schedule and checklist, “things would never get done.” He states that they would be in “so much debt” if it weren’t for his detailed household budget. In his estimation, conflict occurs each time his wife tried to do things “her way” because “it is never the right way.” You paraphrase and clarify the client’s concerns.
Other Contexts:    ily and Work History: The client works as a web designer and developer. He allows you to obtain collateral information from his wife. You reach his wife by phone, who explains that the client has “an explosive temper when I don’t do things exactly how he asks.” The client’s wife states he can be controlling, overly critical, and irrational at times\. This is the client’s first marriage\. The client’s wife wants to participate in couples counseling but says the client is adamant about her not joining

Question: What attitudes and behaviors would a client diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder display (OCPD)?
(A): Persistent, unwanted thoughts and repetitive rituals
(B): Excessive drive to attain financial success
(C): Inflexibility regarding morals and values
(D): Frequent fears of being alone

Correct Answer: Inflexibility regarding morals and values
Explanation: According to the DSM-5-TR, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a persistent preoccupation with organization and mental or interpersonal control. They may force themselves and others to follow rigid moral principles and very strict standards of performance” Persistent, unwanted thoughts and repetitive rituals characterize obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) rather than OCPD. OCPD is a Cluster C personality disorder. Anxious and fearful conditions are included in Cluster C personality disorders. Frequent fears of being alone are a symptom of dependent personality disorder. There is an excessive devotion to work and productivity for individuals with OCPD that is not otherwise accounted for or driven by financial success or necessity. Therefore, the correct answer is (D)
Competency: intake, assessment, and diagnosis