Mental State Exam Flashcards
What are the components of the MSE?
Appearance/Behaviour Speech Mood and Affect + suicidality Thoughts (form and content) Perception Cognition Insight
What should be noted regarding personal appearance of the patient?
Age Physique/Build Dress - evidence of self neglect Effort Tattoos Signs of physical ill health Posture Facial Expression Features of alcoholism or drug abuse
What should be noted regarding a patients’ behaviour?
Psychomotor agitation/retardation
Eye contact
Attitude/Rapport
Describe mood and affect?
Mood is like the weather - can change frequently
Affect is like climate, generally the same
Is suicide risk important to know?
Fucking obviously
What is Psychosis?
A mental health problem that causes people to perceive or interpret things differently from those around them. Possibly involves hallucinations or delusions
What is ‘Knights Move Thinking’?
The patient jumping from topic to topic with no connection between them
What is Tangential Thinking?
Wandering from the topic and never returning to it or providing the information required
What is Circumstantiality?
An inability to answer a question without giving excessive, unnecessary detail
What are Neologisms
Giving something a different name e.g.
Calling a hat a “headshoe”
What are Preoccupations?
Not fixed, false or intrusive but have an undue prominence in the persons mind
What is an Overvalued Idea?
An unreasonable, sustained belief that is held with less than delusional intensity e.g. hypochondriasis
What are obsessions?
An undesired, unpleasant intrusive thought that can’t be suppressed
What are wee clues in an interview that you can pick up?
Unable to call purpose of interview
Vague about time
Vague about how they came to interview
Discussing past events, deceased friends/family as if current
