Marie has been concerned for months that she is very ill with a serious illness. When you ask her about her medical symptoms that lead her to think this, she is very vague. Sometimes she has a headache. On occasion she has a stomach ache. Marie worries about her health constantly. She has a family doctor but claims he doesn’t listen. She sees a gynecologist and has recently started seeing a doctor of internal medicine at the medical school. In addition, she regularly consults with a “healer” she found in a rural county nearby. He prescribes various herbal concoctions for her to take. Sometimes Marie thinks she has cancer, but other times she is sure she has low thyroid and on occasion she has told you she believes she has a brain tumor. Today Marie tells you she has purchased yet another blood pressure machine and a glucose meter “so I can have a set on each floor.” Marie’s worries about her health interfere with her ability to do her job effectively in the billing office of a local hospital. She is asking for help “to sort out what is wrong with me” even though you are not a medical facility. What chapter do you turn to? ____________________. What do you think the diagnosis might be? ____________________ .

Working together in small groups, see how many of the above exercises you can complete. These are designed to familiarize you with where different material is located in the DSM 5. When it comes to actual diagnoses, there will often be discussions about what diagnosis to use. In other words, don’t expect that there is only one right answer. Discuss the cases with your colleagues and try to seek the best answer instead. After discussion, in which you will no doubt cover many of the issues raised in a real work situation, assign the diagnosis you feel is most appropriate.