Michael Scott: The Client

For a project in my Psychological Assessment class, I had to choose a person (real or fictional) and write up a psychological evaluation as if this person was my client. That's right, one of my homework assignments over the past few days has been watching The Office, researching The Office, and taking notes on...you guessed it, The Office. I wonder why all the engineer and physics guys on my hall tell me I have an easy major? Anyway, I was proud of the end result, and thought I'd share it with my blog audience on the hopes that you might enjoy it (and yes, each quote and event is taken from actual episodes, it is possible that I have a problem).




Michael is a male in his mid-40’s. The client is in a relationship with a coworker. Client has worked at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company for over ten years, first as a salesman and currently as regional manager at a branch in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He is dressed neatly in a suit and tie. Hair is short, dark, and neatly combed.

Client has a frequent history of erratic and sometimes inappropriate behavior, for which he is attending this session. In particular, he has shown difficulty maintaining control of his office. The client reluctantly recounted an instance in which he had to choose an employee to fire; before finally making a decision, he attempted to pass the undesirable responsibility onto another employee. In a similar instance, he described his attempt to pass the responsibility of choosing a new healthcare plan (one that would involve cuts and thus be an unpopular decision with his employees) onto a fellow employee. Nevertheless, his recent behavior has shown some improvement, as evidenced by his successful handling of an insubordinate employee. His speech is energetic and enthusiastic, but not forced.

The client’s language is frank and often of questionable taste. Although it is always meant in a humorous context, he has struggled in the past to maintain professionalism in the workplace, often making racist, sexist, or homophobic jokes. In this one session, client used the expression, “That’s what she said” on seven different occasions. Client’s mood is usually upbeat, although he can quickly turn negative and defensive if he is challenged. Client’s affect is appropriate for mood and thought content. Thought progression appears normal, although client is quick to change topics or make a joke if presented with an opportunity.

His thought content is driven by a need to be both liked and the center of attention. The client described this need, “When you have somebody’s attention and their eyes are lighting up because they are very interested in what you have to say, that is a great feeling.” When asked about his personal philosophy as a boss, client responded, “Would I rather be feared or loved? Um…easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.” The client also detailed a difficult past that appears to still influence his thoughts and behavior. He detailed his need to “do better” at an employee’s wedding because of an embarrassing incident involving himself as the ring bearer when his mother married his stepfather. The client also brought in a video of himself as a child appearing on a television program. In the video, when a younger (possibly six, seven, eight) version of the client was asked about what he wanted to be when he grew up, the client responded, “I wanna be married and have 100 kids so I can have 100 friends, and no one can say no to being my friend.” Although the client has definitely made some progress, like currently being in a positive relationship, feelings of insecurity, an overbearing need to be liked and a need to be the center of attention still impact the client’s thoughts.

Although there is no evidence of hallucinations, his perception of reality is still often skewed. During the session, the client described an incident where he accidently hit another employee with his car, fracturing her pelvis. He seemed unwilling or unable to accept responsibility for what he had done, at what point saying, “Oh, I am taking responsibility. And it is up to me, to get rid of the curse that hit [name of employee] with my car. I am not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.” In addition to not being able to always accurately perceive the world around him, the client also often fails to understand and perceive himself. He purchased for himself a mug that says “World’s Best Boss” but maintains, despite evidence to the contrary, that it reflects the way his employees view him.

The client appears conscious and awake, even vibrant, and is oriented to time, place, person and situation. The client is sometimes able to maintain proper attention and concentration when he desires, but he can often be distracted as well. He described pretzel day at the office, where his desire to get a free pretzel kept him from getting any work done. Client’s memory is intact. He is able to recall both past events (like his mother marrying his stepfather) and recent events.

Client’s ability to think abstractly, organize, and plan is questionable. When he felt like he was being treated unfairly by his company, he temporarily quit his job at Dunder Mifflin to begin his own paper business. The client was unable to secure funding for his business, even from his family, and despite his talented efforts as a salesman, the business was unsustainable. However, he did show potential as a problem solver, skillfully negotiating a buyout of his failing business with Dunder Mifflin.

Motivation is not a strong point for the client, as the client himself noted while holding an office mug, “I don’t wanna work. I just want to bang on this mug all day.” The client’s general fund of knowledge is limited, although he does have considerable skill and knowledge as a salesman. He probably has a low-average to average IQ, with a limited vocabulary (during the session, he confused the word “wedding” with “welding”).

Client’s insight can be poor, as demonstrated when he was asked during a session if he has an incessant need to be liked, “Do I need to liked? Absolutely not. I like being liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it’s not like this compulsive need to be liked. Like my need to be praised.” Although the client usually appears to have good intentions, his judgment can be poor. He recounted an instance where an ex-girlfriend broke up with him because he photo shopped a picture of himself over her ex-husband in a picture of her family for a Christmas card. The client has shown some slight improvement in this area, however, as evidenced by his successful attempts to maintain office morale (there were rumors of the company collapsing) by playing a game. Good or poor, the client displays very creative decision making skills.

He can also be quite impulsive, often to his detriment. He described his proposal to an ex-girlfriend after only nine dates, which resulted in rejection and the eventual ending of the relationship (after the photo shop incident). As for his reliability, it is evident that the client strives to be honest and frank; however, it is clear that he is often out of touch with reality. The client’s inability to accept reality may result from denial or a simple inability to fully understand the world around him. Either way, it is important to take what he says with a grain of salt, and more sessions are definitely needed to help the client learn to embrace the truth (especially when it is unpleasant), to deal with difficult self-worth issues, and learn proper social behavior.