Koehler

MEMORANDUM **

Lori S. Koehler appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration upholding the denial of disability benefits. As the parties are familiar with the facts of this case, we do not recite them here. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

“We review de novo a district court’s judgment upholding the denial of social security benefits. We may set aside a denial of benefits only if it is not supported by substantial evidence or is based on legal error.” Lingenfelter v. Astrue, 504 F.3d 1028, 1035 (9th Cir.2007) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted); see also 42 U.S.C. § 405 (g).

A. Psychiatric Impairment.

The ALJ’s finding that Koehler’s mental impairment was “nonsevere” was legally sound and supported by substantial evidence. Contrary to Koehler’s contention, the ALJ did not implicitly reject without reason Dr. Heidenfelder’s opinion that Koehler suffered from a moderate mental impairment. The regulatory scheme— specifically, 20 C.F.R. § 404 .1520a—does not mandate that the diagnosis of a “moderate” degree of limitation in one’s ability to respond to changes in…