back in the red: RIMMERS PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORT
written by Nik:

Ah ha, here's the little smegger! Its my psychological report from the ships psychologist. I don't know why I'm putting this up but what the smeg, what the smegger is blithering on about in parts I'll never know!

Name: Mr R

Age: 31

Sex: Male

Clinic: JMC Psychological Clinic

Source of referral: Mr R was referred by a vocational counsellor. Mr R had been required to consult the counsellor regarding problems in improving his career standing with his company. Though he had made numerous attempts to secure a promotion, Mr R had been unsuccessful in moving above the entry level position he secured six years previously. The vocational counsellor also detected some possible psychological problems and referred the client for further assessment.

Time of interview: 2 days after resurrection of crew

Presenting complaint: Mr R presented complaining particularly about his lack of career fulfilment. Mr R seemed unable to understand why he should have been referred for psychological assessment, but did acknowledge some stress and anxiety caused by his low career success.

History of present condition: Mr R stated that he had experienced mild anxiety and stress throughout his career, though never severe enough for him to seek psychological help. He felt, in general, he is adequately equipped to handle his level of anxiety and stress.

Family history:

Mother: Aged 60. Mr R described her as a magnificent woman, though strict in the upbringing of her children. Despite this, Mr R did acknowledge that their relationship was strained. Mr R admired his mother and attributes the state of the relationship to his own inadequacies. He also mentioned that he and his siblings were aware that she conducted extramarital affairs on many occasions.

Father: Died of heart attack at age 64. Mr R described his father in quite negative terms. Mr R believed that his father attempted to live out his own failed dreams to join the Space Corps through his children and pushed them, often too hard, to succeed. Mr R, as the only of his brothers not to succeed in this profession, felt his father did not like him, and was never proud of him. Mr R seemed to have accepted this definition of failure in his own life.

Siblings :

Personal History: Mr R was born March 14, 2052. He looked back on his childhood with fond memories, though on further explanation, the frequent bullying by his brothers makes it apparent that the close relationships he felt he had were perhaps rather one-sided. He also recalled his father’s determination that all four boys should join the Space Corps and punished them by depriving food when they did not follow this path. Mr R in particular who did not show any talent for this career suffered this abuse more than his brothers. Though reporting close relationships with his brothers in childhood, in adulthood Mr R and his brothers have drifted apart, and it is possible that Mr R’s envy of their achievement in the Space Corps may drive this detachment. His relationship with his mother has also deteriorated further, with Mr R describing his mother as becoming increasingly frustrated with his frequent failure.

Mr R attended school until age 17 and was subjected to bullying (similar to that exacted by his older brothers) by other children. Mr R recalled his early schooling with pleasure, but described later years with dislike. Mr R’s scholastic ability was limited and after age 10, he found it difficult to keep up with his peers and produce grades which would have pleased his parents.

Mr R reported limited romantic relationships in his life, with most being of extreme short duration with no evidence of lasting commitment or intimacy. Mr R appeared to have difficulty forming relationships with others, and perhaps is lacking in social skills. He reported that he finds it difficult to talk to others, and his accounts reveal an unexpectedly high level of self-involvement and difficulty in interpreting the verbal and non-verbal conversational cues of others, such as those conveying interest or annoyance. Furthermore, while he realises he is not well-liked by his work colleagues, Mr R appeared to have limited understanding of why this is so, perceiving himself as hard-working and interesting and worthy of the admiration of his work colleagues.

Mr R spent his time after graduating high school preparing himself to enter the Space Corps Academy, in line with his father’s wishes and furthermore, in line with his own preoccupation of success and some feelings of entitlement to such a career, which may have been driven by his father’s insistence that his sons achieve this level of success in this career. Six years ago, Mr R deciding to approach the Corps from an entry level position and work his way up in the company through passing exams in astronavigation resulting in promotion. However, despite taking the astronavigation exam on numerous occasions, Mr R has had no success with this approach. When pressed, Mr R acknowledged that the career path chosen by his father does not suit him at all, and felt he would never achieve the same levels of success as his older brothers and shows extreme envy towards them. However, in most cases, Mr R believes he is better than his peers at his current job level and should be able to achieve above them.

At the time of the interview, Mr R was in residence with the Jupiter Mining Corporation, as required by his job. He reported that his bunkmate was a source of continuing stress, with habits in direct opposition to Mr R’s need for organization and cleanliness. Mr R even goes so far to suggest that this personality clash with his bunkmate may be one reason he is unable to pass the astronavigation exam and gain promotion.

Medical History:Mr R indicated that he suffered from high blood pressure and a related heart condition, and had been advised to avoid stressful environments. Mr R felt that his current environmental situation is highly stressful and feels his blood pressure and heart condition may be worsened by continued exposure.

Psychiatric History: Mr R reports no previous psychiatric assessment.

Mental State: Mr R presented as a neat, well-dressed, middle-aged man. Mr R’s appearance suggested self-confidence, though his verbal accounts did not reinforce this attitude, and his outward behaviour may even be perceived by others as arrogant and smug. This appearance carried through his speech patterns and movements, though his descriptions of feelings of vocational failure suggests that Mr R is perhaps not as confident as his appearance suggests. He described his mood as generally good, though somewhat anxious about his lack of career success and showed some preoccupation with this failure, though always attributing its cause to others – his bunkmate, his parents, his brothers. His affect was appropriate and he was oriented in person, place and time. His attention and concentration seemed intact, and no psychotic symptoms were evident. Intelligence was estimated as average and he showed reasonable insight and judgement.

Diagnostic Formulation: Mr R is a 31-year-old man referred to this clinic by a vocational counsellor. His interview reveals evidence of traits of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and moderate levels of stress dating back over the last six years of his working life. It is likely Mr R has developed some unrealistic career aspirations as encouraged by his father, who was eager to see his sons enter the career that he himself was unable to. Furthermore, Mr R shows detachment from his family, and difficulty in forming relationships with others.

Currently, Mr R is presenting with moderate levels of stress and anxiety caused by his lack of career fulfilment. This stress is likely to create a cycle of inability to gain promotion due to anxiety caused by previous failures.

Prognosis:It was suggested that Mr R seek vocational counselling to find a more fulfilling job, in addition to psychotherapy aimed at improving his social skills. With this treatment, it is reasonable to say that his prognosis was fair.

Categorical Diagnosis:

Initial Treatment Plan: Mr R was recommended to seek vocational counselling to review his career. He was also encouraged to seek ongoing social skills training and individual psychotherapy to improve his interpersonal relationships and monitor his progress.