A 23-year-old man presents to a psychiatrist with a chief complaint of being depressed since he broke up with his girlfriend two weeks ago. The patient explains that although he loves his ex-girlfriend, he broke up with her because his mother did not approve of her and would not allow him to marry her. He says that he cannot go against his mother because she “has taken care of me all these years.” He states he could never fend for himself without his mother and alternates between being angry with her and feeling that “maybe she knows best.” He has lived at home his entire life except for one semester away at college. He returned home at the end of the semester because he was homesick, and did not go back.
The patient reports no loss of appetite, concentration, or energy. The patient claims that he performs “adequately” at work and has no job-related problems. He works for an accounting…
