Examination: Mental State Examination

This examination is used in a psychiatric setting for examining a patient's mental state.


Appearance and behaviour
  • Dress - appropriate for weather and day?
  • Well kempt or showing signs of self neglect
  • Excessive or very little movements (agitation vs depression)
  • Additional movements, e.g.: abnormal posturing, tardive dyskinesia etc.
  • Eye contact
  • Facial expression

Speech
  • Volume
  • Pitch
  • Rate
  • Fluency
  • Articulation
    • Stammering
    • Stuttering
    • Dysarthria
  • Quantity - pressure of speech vs. poverty of speech

Mood
  • Objective
  • Subjective
  • Affect - how the patient is right now
  • Congruous on incongruous to thoughts and/or actions?

Thoughts
  • Content of the thoughts
    • Thought disorders
    • Thought insertion
    • Thought withdrawal
    • Thought broadcasting
    • Delusions
      • Of control - passivity
      • Grandiose
      • Paranoid
    • Obsessional thoughts
    • Phobic thoughts
    • Circumstantiality
    • Tangentiality
    • Flight of ideas (seen in mania)
    • Loosening of associations (seen in schizophrenia)
    • Perseveration
    • Echolalia
    • Neologisms (seen in schizophrenia)

    Perception
    • Illusions
    • Hallucinations
      • Auditory. 3rd person - schizophrenia
      • Visual
      • Somatic
      • Olfactory
      • Gustatory
    • Depersonalisation
    • Derealisation

    Cognition
    • MMSE

    Insight
    • Does the patient have insight into any abnormalities in their mental state?

    Risk
    • Of harm to self
      • Include self harm and suicide risk
    • Harm to others
      • Include criminal record
      • Harm to children
    • Harm from others
      • Any accidents
      • Substance abuse
      • Previous psychiatric illness
    • Family history of psychiatric illness
    • Support - family and friends

    Summary

    written by: celine_lakra, first posted on: 05/01/13, 12:29

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    Comments:

    Waynethompson says...
    Excellent simple and easy to follow!
    POSTED ON: 10/03/13, 19:26

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