ABSTRACT
Mrs. C., a 23-year-old Caucasian female, was referred by her employer for psychiatric evaluation after experiencing difficulties functioning as an accounting assistant. After being on the job for approximately one month, Mrs. C. was called into the supervisor's office and infonned that the other employees in the department had concerns about her mental health. Mrs. C's supervisor, citing her concerns about general employee morale and perfonnance, recommended a psychiatric evaluation, adding, "I know it must be stressful taking a new job in a new city." Mrs. C., worried about losing her job, did not attempt to clarify her supervisor's concerns. Rather, she reluctantly agreed to an evaluation, and allowed her supervisor to
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The psychiatrist contacted Mrs. C.'s supervisor for collateral history. Mrs. C.'s supervisor stated that Mrs. C. "never fit in with the other employees." She did not socialize, and became offended when the other women in the office suggested that she modify her wardrobe because "she dresses like an old lady." Mrs. C. refused to eat food offered to her by others, and brought her own food to work, which she would not store in the employee refrigerator. She would not use the supply of eating utensils in the employee lounge. Instead, she brought two different sets of personal eating utensils, cups, and plates, and kept them carefully separated from each other. Employees complained to the supervisor that she "acts as if we are all contaminated or something." They also noted that on occasion Mrs. C. seemed overly concerned with time. In fact, she anxiously rushed to complete her work on Fridays, and made a special arrangement with a coworker to cover for her so she could leave early, explaining only that she "had to be in her house before the sun went down." She absolutely refused to work on Saturdays, and declined to attend a department social event on a Saturday afternoon. Other employees complained of Mrs. C.'s "strange behavior," which her supervisor, on closer observation, noted for herself.
