Mental State Examination (MSE) Flashcards
1
Q
Presentation/ Appearance
A
- Gross appearance
- Individual’s apparent age compared to recorded
- Position during assessment (sitting/ lying)
- Grooming and evidence of self-care or neglect
- Distinguishing features (scars/ tattoos)
- Facial expression (grimaces, no expression)
2
Q
Behaviour/ Psychomotor Activity
A
- Physical signs of anxiety, restlessness and/ or distress
- Change in behaviour in response to assessment
- Any tremor or involuntary movements
- Gestures with hands, eyes and/ or head
- Crying, laughing, or other behavioral indications of mood, eye contact with the interviewer
- Motor activity (psychomotor agitation/ retardation)
3
Q
Affect/ Mood
A
- Emotional responsiveness
- Congruence of mood, affect and content of conversation
- Conversational triggers to emotional responses
- Crying, laughing or other behavioural indications of mood
- Irritability/ anger
- Indication of anxiety
- Individual’s self-rating of mood
(1 = lowest ever, 10= best ever)
4
Q
Speech
A
- Rate, tone and volume of speech
- Reduced or poverty of speech
5
Q
Thought Disturbances
A
- Stream, flow of speech and thoughts
- Organisation of speech (coherent, logical complete sentences, goal orientated)
6
Q
Thought Content
A
- Major themes, delusions
- Themes of thought and speech (preoccupations, guilt, depressive themes, dominant concerns)
- Evidence of ideas out of context (i.e. paranoid ideas, delusions)
7
Q
Perceptual Disturbances
A
- Hallucinations, etc
- Evidence of unexplained perceptions (make allowances for age, culture, language and spirituality)
- Consider all senses (eg. auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory and olfactory)
8
Q
Insight/ Judgement
A
- Individual’s understanding of their current issues or problems
- Consider the degree of the person’s awareness and their ability to make rational decisions
9
Q
Cognition/ Concentration/ Consciousness and memory
A
- Orientation to time, place, person
