Mental State Exam

Question 1

what categories are in a mental state exam?

Answer 1

-Appearance + Behaviour
-Speech
-Mood + Affect
-Thoughts (control + content)
-Perception
-Cognitive Function
-Insight

ABS MAT PCI
Do ABS exercises on a MAT or you will end up in PCI

Question 2

what is a mental state exam?

Answer 2

-based on observation by doctor, it is an objective assessment and a technical description

Question 3

what is covered in appearance + behaviour?

Answer 3

Appearance:
-Age, gender, race, Body habitus, grooming, attire, posture, gait, off movements, evidence of injuries or illness, smell

Behaviour:
-eye contact, rapport, open/guarded/ suspiscious, agitation/ psychomotor retardation, disinhibition/ overfamiliarity

Question 4

what is covered in speech?

Answer 4

-Rate, amount, variation in tone, speech delay and volume

Question 5

Difference between mood and affect?

Answer 5

Mood- in patients own words how they feel

Affect- objective assessment of how the patient appears throughout the interview

Question 6

what is a congruent and incongruent affect?

Answer 6

congruent= the affect and mood are in line with eachother

incongruent= the affect and mood seem to differ e.g. patient is sharing a distressing thought but is laughing

Question 7

what is an incongruent affect associated with?

Answer 7

incongruent affect is associated with scitzophrenia

Question 8

what is covered in affect?

Answer 8

your observation of how the patient appears through the interview

-consider where is their baseline affect (e.g. low, anxious, elated, irritable)

-and to what extent does it vary (reactive, unreactive, flattened , blunted)

Question 9

what is passivity phenomena?

Answer 9

-behaviour/ thoughts are being controlled by an external agency rather than by the individual

includes thought insertion, withdrawal, broadcasting

patients can think they were made to do something