Mental State Examination Flashcards
When conducting and presenting the findings of a mental state examination, in what order should this be approached?
Appearance and behaviour
Speech
Mood
Affect
Thought
Perceptions
Cognition
Insight
Risk
How should appearance and behaviour be examined?
Describe the patient
What aspects of a patients appearance and behaviour should be described?
Well kempt?
Clothing
Eye contact
Level of rapport
Psychomotor retardation
Other psychomotor signs
What types of eye contact may be particularly relevant?
Inappropriate eye contact
Reduced eye contact
How can level of rapport differ between psychiatric patients?
Can be easy to develop
Patient can be guarded
What other psychomotor signs could be commented on?
Parkinsonism
What aspects of speech should be analysed during a mental state examination?
Rate
Tone
Volume
Difficulty speaking?
Formal thought disorder?
How can rate of speech vary?
Delayed start
Slow
Fast
How can tone of speech vary?
Monotonous
Overly variable
How can volume of speech vary?
Quiet/loud
What types of difficulty speaking may a patient have?
Dysphasia
Dysarthria
What are some different types of formal thought disorder?
Loosening of associations
Flight of ideas
Circumstantiality
Tangentiality
Neologisms
What is loosening of associations?
A loss of connection between thoughts presenting as changing of topic between sentences or words with obvious links between topics.
At its wort how can loosening of ideas present?
Word salad
What condition does loosening of associations typically present in?
Schizophrenia
What is flight of ideas?
Rapid changing of topic between sentences with some identifiable link between topics
What condition does flight of ideas typically present in?
Mania
What is the major difference between loosening of associations and flight of ideas?
There is an identifiable link between topic changes in flight of ideas if speech is written down and analysed
What is circumstantiality?
Patient will go over the top with detail and move on to seemingly irrelevant topics before bringing the conversation back to answer the question
What is tangentiality?
The patient will move the conversation on to another topic and never return to answer the original question