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Sample Personality Assessment Report

Josephine Schmoe is a 52-year-old Caucasian female self-referred to the Awesome Psychological Clinic.

She was administered the MMPI-2 and the MCMI-III.

Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III)

The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III) provides a general profile of an individual's current level of

functioning as well as highlighting aspects of the individual’s character and personality traits. The MCMI-

III also provides a number of validity indices that are designed to provide an assessment of factors that could

distort the results of testing. Such factors for this could include failure to complete test items properly,

carelessness, reading difficulties, confusion, exaggeration, malingering, or clinical defensiveness.

Josephine’s MCMI-III profile is noted by her marked dependency needs, her depressive seeking of attention

and reassurance from others, and her intense fear of separation from those who provide support.

Dependency strivings have pushed her in the past to be overly compliant with others and to play down

whatever personal strengths and attributes for independent behavior she may possess. Recently, significant

relationships in her life may have become insecure and unreliable, possibly owing in part to permitting others

to be abusive. This has resulted in increased moodiness, prolonged periods of dejection, and extended

episodes of worry and anxiety. Probably inclined to court blame and criticism, she seems to look for situations

in which to place her feeling that she deserves to suffer.

Josephine is typically seen by friends and family as submissive and cooperative. In recent times, however, she

may have become quite self-condemning, sulky, disconsolate, and pessimistic. Somewhat hypochondriacal,

she may be disappointed in her physical appearance as well. She increasingly vacillates between being socially

agreeable, mournful, self-abasing, passive-aggressive, and contrite. She has begun to complain of being

treated unfairly, a behavior that now puts others on edge, never knowing if she will react in an agreeable or

sulky manner. Although struggling to be obliging and submissive to others, she now anticipates

disillusionment in family relationships and often creates the expected disappointment by testing and

questioning the genuineness of their interest and support. Such behaviors may exasperate and eventually

alienate those upon whom she depends. Threatened by separation or disapproval, she is likely to express guilt

and self-condemnation in the hope of regaining support, reassurance, and sympathy.

Josephine may have recently come to exhibit helplessness as well as anxious and depressive moods. Fearing

that others may grow weary of her behavior, she may alternate between voicing self-deprecation and

melancholy, and being petulant and irritable. Her conflict over dependency and her struggle between

acquiescence and assertive independence intrude into family relationships. An increasing inability to regulate

her emotional controls may add to her feeling of being misunderstood and may further contribute to her

erratic moodiness and state of persistent self-criticism and dejection.

Most notable is her feeling of isolation and undesirability, further complicated by her tendency to devalue her

achievements, which together result in an intensified sense of having been socially derogated and isolated.

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She tends to be excessively introspective and self-conscious, seeing herself as markedly and negatively

different from others, unsure of her identity and self-worth. The alienation she feels from others is thus

paralleled by a feeling of alienation from herself.

Also salient is her inclination to subordinate her own wishes to a stronger and (she hopes) nurturing person,

resulting in the habit of being conciliatory, deferential, and self-sacrificing. She probably believes that it is

best to abdicate responsibility, to leave matters to others, and to place her fate in others' hands. In her view,

other people are much better equipped to shoulder responsibility, to navigate the intricacies of a complex

world, and to discover and achieve the pleasures to be found in the competitions of life.

Also worthy of attention is Josephine’s tendency to see things in their bleakest form, to give the gloomiest

interpretation to events, and to be invariably pessimistic, expecting the worst to happen. She may try to fight

back depressive feelings and thoughts by consciously diverting her ideas and preoccupations away from her

characteristically depressive mood. For the most part, however, these new ruminations are replaced by

troublesome ones. She tends to reactivate and then brood over minor incidents from the past. She is likely to

believe that her present negative state is irreversible and that any attitude other than pessimism or gloom is

merely illusory.

Also noteworthy is the presence of unsophisticated ideas and rudimentary memories, simple if not childlike

impulses and expectations, and immature competencies. She has probably learned through parental models

how to behave affectionately and admiringly. She has an ingrained capacity for expressing tenderness and

consideration, essential elements in holding on to her protectors. She has also learned the "inferior" role well,

thereby being able to provide a "superior" partner with the feeling of being useful, sympathetic, and

competent.

Interwoven with Josephine’s fretful and melancholic feelings are clear signs of a major depression overlying a

characterologic mix of dysthymic features. Notable among these features are a diminished capacity for

pleasure, preoccupation with lessened energy and adequacy, pessimism and suicidal ideation, a loss of

confidence, feelings of worthlessness, resentment, and fears that she may vent her anger and thereby lose

the little security she possesses. Unsure of the fidelity and dependability of those on whom she has previously

leaned, but ambivalent about currently needing them, she not only restrains her anger toward them but turns

it inward, producing judgments of self-derision and guilt. Her low self-esteem and fear of loss induce her to

feel increasingly hopeless and to entertain thoughts of suicide.

Feeling anxious and aggrieved, Josephine also appears to be preoccupied with physical fears and complaints

that are indicative of a somatoform disorder (e.g., gastrointestinal discomfort, pain). Her low self-esteem and

dread of reproval and rejection prevent her from directly or consistently venting her discontent and

resentment. As a consequence, her emotions remain largely bottled up, precluding her ability to relax or to

give her bodily functions a chance to improve. Beyond the detrimental effects of unrelieved physical tension,

her symptoms may represent an assault against her body. Psychodynamically, she may be treating her body

as an object of repudiation, a symbol of her psychic self, which she views as defective and undesirable.

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Consistent with her pervasive discontent and sadness, Josephine reports suffering from a variety of symptoms

that constitute an anxiety disorder. In addition to palpitations, distractibility, jittery feelings, and restlessness

at one moment and exhaustion the next, she may experience presentiments of tragic outcomes as well as

periodic panic attacks and agoraphobia. Expecting the worst to happen, she not only looks for confirmation

but also may precipitate events that generate self-defeating stressors that further intensify her anxieties.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) provides a general profile of an individual's

current level of functioning as well as highlights aspects of the individual’s character and personality traits.

The MMPI-2 also provides a number of validity indices that are designed to provide an assessment of factors

that could distort the results of testing. Such factors could include failure to complete test items properly,

carelessness, reading difficulties, confusion, exaggeration, malingering, or defensiveness.

Josephine’s MMPI-2 profile should be interpreted with caution. There is some possibility that the clinical

report is an exaggerated picture of Josephine's present situation and problems. She is presenting an unusual

number of psychological symptoms.

This report was developed using the Hs and Hy scales as the prototype. Josephine’s MMPI-2 clinical profile

presents a rather mixed pattern of symptoms in which somatic reactivity under stress is a primary difficulty.

Josephine presents a picture of physical problems and a reduced level of psychological functioning. Josephine

is likely to have a hysteroid adjustment to life and may experience periods of exacerbated symptom

development under stress. Some individuals with this profile develop patterns of "invalidism" in which they

become incapacitated and dependent on others. Her physical complaints may be vague and may have

appeared suddenly after a period of stress.

In addition, the following description is suggested by Josephine's scores on the content scales. She endorsed a

number of items suggesting that she is experiencing low morale and a depressed mood. She reports a

preoccupation with feeling guilty and unworthy. She feels that she deserves to be punished for wrongs she

has committed. She feels regretful and unhappy about life, and she seems plagued by anxiety and worry

about the future. She feels hopeless at times and feels that she is a condemned person. Josephine’s recent

thinking is likely to be characterized by obsessiveness and indecision. She feels somewhat self-alienated and

expresses some personal misgivings or a vague sense of remorse about past acts. She feels that life is

unrewarding and dull, and she finds it hard to settle down. She is rather high-strung and believes that she

feels things more, or more intensely, than others do. She feels quite lonely and misunderstood at times.

Josephine attests to having more fears than most people do.

Although she is describing her present problem situation largely in terms of vague physical complaints, her

PSY-5 scores suggest some long-term personality characteristics that can influence her adjustment. Josephine

shows a meager capacity to experience pleasure in life. Persons with high scores on the INTR

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(Introversion/Low Positive Emotionality) scale tend to be pessimistic. Her pervasive physical problem

presentation could result, in part, from this characteristic personality deficit. According to her score on NEGE

(Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism), she tends to view the world in a highly negative manner and usually

develops a worst-case scenario to explain events affecting her. She tends to worry to excess and interprets

even neutral events as problematic. Her physical complaints might be, in part, a function of her tendency to

catastrophize. Her self-critical nature prevents her from viewing relationships in a positive manner.

Josephine's MMPI-2 high-point clinical scale score (Hy) was found in 10.5% of the MMPI-2 normative sample

of women. However, only 3.7% of the sample had Hy as the peak score at or above a T-score of 65, and

only 2.1% had well-defined Hy spikes. Her elevated MMPI-2 profile configuration (1-3/3-1) is rare in samples

of average individuals, occurring in less than 2.7% of the MMPI-2 normative sample of women.

The relative frequency of this profile in various outpatient settings is informative. In the Pearson female

outpatient sample, this MMPI-2 high-point clinical scale score (Hy) was the second most frequent peak,

occurring in 17.2% of the women. Moreover, 13.3% of the outpatient women had the Hy scale spike at or

above a T score of 65, and 7.5% had well-defined Hy peaks. Her elevated MMPI-2 profile configuration (1-3/3-

1) was found in 8.9% of the women in the Pearson outpatient sample.

Individuals with similar profiles tend to be somewhat passive-dependent and demanding in interpersonal

relationships. Josephine may attempt to control others by complaining of physical symptoms. Many women

with this profile have difficulties with sexual relationships because they are overly concerned with their health

and preoccupied with physical problems.

She is a very introverted person who has difficulty meeting and interacting with other people. She is shy and

emotionally distant. She tends to be very uneasy, rigid, and overcontrolled in social situations. Her shyness is

probably symptomatic of a broader pattern of social withdrawal. Personality characteristics related to social

introversion tend to be stable over time. Her generally reclusive behavior, introverted lifestyle, and tendency

toward interpersonal avoidance may be prominent in any future test results.

Josephine's scores on the content scales suggest the following additional information concerning her

interpersonal relations. Her social relationships are likely to be viewed by others as problematic. She may be

visibly uneasy around others, sits alone in group situations, and dislikes engaging in group activities.