MSE

Question 1

Appearance (5)

Answer 1

Clothes
Posture
Grooming
Apparent age
Accessories (tattoos, jewelry)

Question 2

Behavior (9)

Answer 2

Motor activity
General actions
Ease of separation / manner of relating, hyperactivity
Gestures, mannerisms
Dangerous or impulsive behavior
Agitation / retardation
Attitude towards interviewer (open / guarded, hostile)
Neuro: rigidity, tremor, dyskinesias, other movements (stereotypies, tics), gait
Gross / fine motor skills (esp. relative to developmental age)

Question 3

Mood (4)

Answer 3

Subjective feeling state
Patient-generated
Patient’s words
Reactivity

Question 4

Affect (7)

Answer 4

Observed expression of emotion at that instant
Objective
Range (flat [no smile], blunted [crack a slight smile], restricted [smile then go back to looking flat], broad [normal])
Quality / state (low –> high: dysphoric, euthymic, elevated, euphoric, expansive)
Appropriateness
Congruence w/ mood
Lability

Question 5

Speech (7)

Answer 5

Volume
Rate
Coherence
Latency
Accents
Productivity (how much speech is coming out)
Production (way the speech comes out of the mouth)

Question 6

Thought Process (6)

Answer 6

Is the person able to go from point A to point B when talking
Logical
Goal-directed / tangential
Circumstantial / loose
Stream of thought
Continuity of thought

Question 7

Thought Content (9)

Answer 7

What they actually think about
*Lethality (suicidality, homicidality, aggressive / self-injurious impulses, passive death wish)
- Ideation: thinking about it (when, how often, content, how controlled)
- Impulses: I feel like doing it (when, how often, how controlled)
- Intent: stated or inferred by actions to carry out plan
- Plan: how to do it, includes means
Delusions (thoughts like aliens are in their intestines)
Obsessions
Self-worth
Hope
Self-efficacy
Special feelings / fantasies / conflicts
Word usage

Question 8

Perception (5)

Answer 8

Abnormalities in 5 special senses
Hallucinations (sensory experience w/o actual input)
Illusions (misperceived sensory input)
Dissociation
Sensory difficulties

Question 9

Cognition / Sensorium (7)

Answer 9

Level of alertness & cognition
Alertness
Orientation
Attention
Memory
General knowledge / intelligence
Reading / writing / language

Question 10

Insight (1)

Answer 10

Aware of the main problem & the need for treatment

Question 11

Judgment (2)

Answer 11

Ability to act appropriately in dealing w/ life / interpersonal / social situations
Understanding consequences of actions